Childhood Sweethearts Short Stories & Novels

I was the one who broke Apollo's heart. He was the golden heir of the Sun, my childhood love, and I pushed him away so hard that I drove him all the way to the frozen wastes beyond the North Wind. He stayed there for eight years. Now he was back. He had a new nymph goddess by his side, and they were going to hold their sacred divine marriage right here in our polis. That same week, the temple oracle gave me my final prophecy: I had three months left to live. When my mother wheeled me outside to see him, Apollo's mouth curled into that cruel, mocking smile I remembered all too well. His dark eyes swept over me from head to toe, taking in the wheelchair, the thinness of my arms, and the ghost-like paleness of my face. "Well, well," he said, his voice low and sharp. "Eight years and you look like a shade. Can't even stand anymore?" I tugged my sleeve down, hiding the dark scars—the marks left by years of divine magic failing to save me. I kept my voice steady. "An accident at the altar. A minor divine backlash. It’s nothing." He let out a short, cold laugh. "Right. Anyway, our divine wedding is coming up. You should be Chloe's bridesmaid." I smiled back at him. I had gotten good at smiling through pain over the years. "I'm sorry, but I'm leaving soon. Somewhere far away." I gently patted my mother's hand. She didn't say a word, just gripped the handles of the chair and pushed me back toward the house. I didn't look back.

Eight years into marriage, and Fabian's mom finally gave me and my son her stamp of approval. Invited us to spend Christmas in his hometown. My son—Luca--and I were hyped. We picked out a gift for her and hit the road with Fabian. Right as we pulled into the village, Fabian's old friend called—crying, claiming she'd crashed her car. Fabian panicked. Left me and Luca in some random snowy mountain town and sped off. It was pitch black. Snow dumping down. Then Luca screamed. He'd stepped on a trap and dropped into a pit. Blood everywhere. I called Fabian, totally panicked. He goes, "Stella, Roxana's in a wreck. I need to be with her. Stop making everything a competition." Then he hung up. Blocked me. No time to fall apart. I wiped my face, called an ambulance. Too far out. By the time they got there, Luca was already gone. Cold. Broken. Gone. I held him and screamed until my lungs gave out. Meanwhile, Roxana's posting in the social media. All smiles in Fabian's arms. His face soft. Loving. [Highway jam turned into truth or dare. One word—"accident"—and he came flying. So happy.] I exhaled. Tagged Fabian. [Let's get a divorce.] This joke of a marriage should've ended forever ago.

After an extreme dust storm swallowed half the mall, I was searching for my missing daughter when I received a call from Evelyn Mercer five years in the future. [Ryan, you have to do exactly what I say. I'm the only one who can save my little girl.] Without hesitating, I led the rescue team to the collapsed section she named. Sure enough, I heard a weak child's voice. I shouted in relief, "Thank God for you, Evelyn! I found her!" Evelyn laughed softly. [That's right. I came back to fix a regret.] But when the rescue crew lifted the concrete slab, the child they pulled out was not my daughter. It was the daughter of Evelyn's childhood sweetheart, Marcus Hale. I froze. Evelyn, however, sounded relieved. [Five years ago, Marcus lost his daughter and nearly broke. After that, he only had me. That night, we ended up together.] [I'm sorry, Ryan. I came back to fix Marcus's regret.] [Our daughter is buried on the other side of the mall. Hurry. Go save her.] When I rushed back, Evelyn's future voice was smug. [Well? Was she there?] I looked at my daughter's body, already cold and breathless. Then I clenched my fist and hung up.

My fiance's precious childhood crush, Amber Sweeney, was in a political union with the infamous Julian Grant, heir to the Grant family empire and a notorious playboy. Unable to stand the thought of Amber being "sacrificed", Ryan Carter barged into her wedding to stop it. They registered their marriage that day, making headlines across the city. The whole of D.C.'s elite waited to watch me and the Grant family become the city's biggest joke. What they didn't expect was that on the very next day, Julian would roll up to my company in his high-key sports car, leaning against the hood like he had all the time in the world. "Your fiance stole my bride. You'll be repaying that debt by marrying me. Fair trade, right?" I stared at his blazing red hair and wild grin, and smiled back coolly. "Sounds fair to me."

I've always been half a beat behind everyone else. But my childhood friend Charles and my best friend Annie always seemed to grow faster than me. After every training session, they'd be the first to pack up and leave. I'd still be sorting my gear, piece by piece. Once, we had a moonlit hunt training together. I fell into a trap and screamed for help, but they were long gone. On the day we submitted our Shifter Academy applications, they filled out their forms and left. I was still double-checking my last entry. "Lilith, you're way too slow. I still have to go with Annie to pick up Moon Festival admission passes. We're leaving. Not waiting." "Annie and I are both applying to Silver Moon Academy. Make sure you put that one down too. That way we can all keep training together." Charles said his piece. Annie hooked her arm through his, and they hurried off. They were in too much of a rush to hear the words I said behind them, so quiet the wind nearly swallowed them. "I'm not applying to Silver Moon Academy." I watched their figures shrink into the distance. For the first time, I didn't chase after them. "From now on, you never have to wait for me again."

Ariel and I married into the Jahn family—and got knocked up around the same time. I landed Edmond, the older brother and a hotshot forensic pathologist. She got Philip, the cop. At six months pregnant, I started bleeding. Instead of rushing me to the ER, Edmond dragged me into an OR. "Keyla was in a car crash. Messed up her leg. Whatever this is, deal with it later. Help her first." Ariel tried yanking me out, but Philip was already outside, blocking the door. "Keyla's the patient. If you've got an ounce of medical ethics, you'll save her." We were trapped. So, we did the surgery. Then Keyla had someone cut us open and dump our bodies in the woods. We died hating them all. Edmond and Philip didn't figure it out till they dug us up—too little, way too late.

I was the top bounty thief in the organization. The best they had. After turning in my final score, I announced on the spot that I was done for good. Then, I stood in my studio, blending paint. A single photograph was pinned to the wall before me. Black Viper filled the doorway, the light behind him casting his face in shadow. "What's it like," he asked quietly, "pretending to be an artist?" He stepped further inside. "Does paint smell better than blood?" I placed the palette knife down and wiped my hands slowly. "I'm done. I walked away." "Old Fox didn't approve of it." "That's not my concern." Black Viper crossed the room and tapped the old photograph on the wall. "Are you certain?" I did not want to look. I told myself not to. However, my gaze shifted anyway. A young boy stared back from the photo. "The blind kid?" I had spent ten years searching for him. "Where is he?" I moved toward the wall, reaching to rip the picture down. "One last job," Black Viper said, pressing his palm against the photo. My hand stopped in midair. "What's the target?" "The final lot at next month's auction that the Gilbert Group will be holding. "It's called Mermaid's Tear."

I was Elena DeLuca, the orphan Lucian Vestri pulled out of a massacre. The night two mafia families turned the docks into a graveyard, my parents died taking bullets meant for him. He carried me out in his arms, brought me back to the Vestri estate, and kept me by his side ever since. For five years, he gave me everything. Protection. Privilege. A place no one else could touch. He made me the most untouchable woman in the city. So I was foolish enough to believe I meant something different to him. Then I told him I loved him. He gave me silence. And for the next three years, he gave me nothing else. Until the day he went to another family to formalize his engagement. His bride was Sofia Bellini. The woman who once watched me humiliate myself for him. That same day, another family placed a marriage alliance in front of me. This time, I did not cry. I did not beg. I lowered my eyes and said, calmly,"If my marriage can repay the Vestris and serve the family's interests, then I'm willing." The moment I was no longer his, Lucian went mad trying to make me stay.

I was twenty-two when my luck went bad. A flowerpot came off a third-floor ledge while I was walking under it. My brother Julian shoved me clear and took it on the head. Wolves heal from almost anything. The doctors told my parents he would never wake up. A month later, my sister Felicity rode with me to visit him. A truck ran the light. Her leg was crushed in four places, and it never healed right. A witch passing through Greyridge took one look at me across the pack meeting and told my Alpha father, in front of everyone, that I would bury whoever stood closest to me. He threw me out that same night. But my fiancé did not give up on me. The most powerful witch in the entire country said that as long as I remained alone on the island, I would not be affected by the curse. So he bought me an island. Five years. Nothing bad happened to me in all that time. The only thing was, Dominic had a pack to run, so I got him two or three days a month. I tried to go to him. But the boat docked fine. A car hit mine on the way to the airport and I spent two weeks in a hospital bed. "Mer, I'm scared every time you leave this island." His voice was shaking. "I can't lose you. I'll come more often. I swear." I missed him so much I couldn't sleep. I told myself to be good about it anyway. This year, he said a project would keep him away on his birthday. So I got on a boat without telling anyone. I wanted to see his face. The crossing was smooth. When I reached the Stonecrest pack house, the main doors opened. My sister walked in, wearing a couture gown, holding Dominic's arm. Felicity. On both legs. Two she-wolves beside my pillar were watching them too. "Five years mated, a three-year-old pup, and look at them. Still like that." "Alpha Cross never so much as looks at another woman. You won't find another one like him in any pack." A little boy in a tiny copy of Dominic's suit came running through the doors with his arms up. "Daddy! Happy birthday!" My hands went cold. Every accident had been bought. Every witch had been paid. Even my mating certificate was a fake. So I walked out of that hospital alone, got on the first plane I could find, and had every trace of me erased. Three years later, I walked into a ballroom wearing nine figures around my neck, under a name he'd never heard. Dominic Cross crushed a glass in his fist and begged for one more chance.

For three years, Quinn Walker had been engaged to Liam Grant. During that time, she'd chased off countless women he'd flirted with and buried more rumors about his love life than she could count. None of it had ever bothered her. Quinn had everything going for her: beauty, a great figure, and social standing. More importantly, she and Liam had grown up together, and their bond ran deep. She had never doubted that he loved her. He was simply angry with his family for trying to control his life. So whenever she dealt with another woman, she'd turn to her fiancé with a smile and ask, "Are you done being mad yet? When are we getting married?" Liam would always give the same lazy reply. "Just wait a little longer." And somehow, a little longer turned into three years. Then one day, something changed. Her friends began warning her to keep an eye on a girl Liam was financially supporting. This was a first. Never before had anyone felt the need to warn her about another woman.

After spending three months scavenging for supplies in the sweltering heat, my boyfriend, Derek Callahan, gives me just three ounces of muddy water. Then, he gives all our clean water to his childhood sweetheart, Fione Prescott, so she can wash her feet. When I confront him at the shelter, he loses his temper. "Fiona has sensitive skin! She could get sick if she washes her feet with dirty water. You're perfectly healthy, so what's the problem? Do you really have to make such a big deal over a little water? "Fiona was right about you. You never wanted to be part of my team. You only joined because you wanted me to protect you! I was even planning to save you a good spot in the safe zone if you'd just drink that muddy water. But you've really disappointed me!" I'm not about to waste my breath arguing with him. I quit the team on the spot, leaving him free to get together with Fiona. Five years later, he's taken over several smaller settlements and founded Ashford, the largest survivor base, becoming a powerful warlord with an army under his command. Meanwhile, as far as everyone knows, I'm still just a lone scavenger. When we cross paths again at the trade fair, Derek holds a glass of chilled juice in one hand, with Fiona nestled against his side. He looks me up and down, his gaze lingering on my worn-out backpack. "Still digging through trash, huh? What brings you here? Come to beg me to take you in? If you hadn't been so selfish back then, you'd be the First Lady of Ashford by now. But you blew your chance. Even if you got down on your knees and begged, I wouldn't give you a second glance." But the moment the governor of Eden, the world's only remaining ecological city, kisses me on the cheek, Derek crushes the glass in his hand. "Sophie Bennett! I never agreed to break up with you! What gives you the right to marry someone else?"

I came into this world like a queen ascending her throne, flanked by three fierce guardians sworn to defend my reign. My husband is the best lawyer in Ardenfield. Though he's unbeatable in court, he doesn't dare stand up to me when I scold him at home. My childhood sweetheart leads the criminal investigation team and is a genius at solving cases. He even vows to eliminate any threat that surrounds me. Meanwhile, my adoptive brother is a rising star in the business world. Having inherited the Joplin family's business empire at an early age, he spends money on me without hesitation. Today marks both my seventh wedding anniversary and my birthday. I spend the entire day waiting for them at a rooftop restaurant, clutching a pregnancy test report in my hands. But instead of basking in celebration, I receive the heartbreaking news that my five-year-old daughter has drowned. To make matters worse, my husband decides to defend the culprit in court. When I cry out in agony, my childhood sweetheart puts me in handcuffs. My adoptive brother even goes to the extreme of reclaiming everything he has ever given me. "Louise, it was just an unfortunate accident between two children. Will you let Violet's son go now?"

In the seventieth year of my marriage to Adrian, the whole world still believed we were the most devoted vampire couple alive. In the documentary, he looked at me across old footage that spanned half a century and told everyone, "After I met my wife, I finally understood that even immortality can make you feel there isn't enough time." He confessed his love for me. He said he wanted every tomorrow I had. But that same night, I received a video. In a dim hotel corridor, my husband had a young human woman pinned against the wall, his head bent to bite the side of her neck. She asked him whether he was going home to me that night. Adrian kissed the blood from the corner of her lips and answered gently, "I'm yours until sunrise." Later he knelt in front of me and explained that the woman was only a brief diversion in his long life. She would age. She would die. And I was his only wife, the one he wanted to keep beside him forever. He thought that as long as eternity belonged to me, handing a few nights to someone else did not count as betrayal. But he had forgotten. On the day I agreed to marry him, I told him plainly, I could stand beside him through poverty, war, silver, and death. The one thing I could not accept was a third person entering our marriage. One betrayal, and there would never be a second chance. Adrian did not believe I would really go. He thought seventy years of knowing each other was enough to earn my forgiveness, and he thought we had endless time, enough to start over as many times as he liked. Until I left the divorce papers behind, took everything that was mine, and never looked back. Then a year passed. Ten years passed. A hundred years passed. I built a whole life that had nothing to do with him. And that vampire duke, who would not age and would not easily die, stayed alone in the long night. He could have everything. He would never have my love again.

On the day I'm supposed to try on my wedding dress, Don Aldo Vitale gets the time wrong again. By the time he finally gets to the bridal boutique, I have already chosen my dress. Just like always, Aldo apologizes without thinking. "I've been really busy lately. I hope you understand." But over the past few years, Aldo's taken his childhood sweetheart and assistant, Isabella Berardi, to more than 100 cities for business. He's never forgotten a single flight, meeting, or business dinner. In contrast, Aldo's always forgetting things when it comes to me. I calmly hand the wedding dress back to the sales associate. "It's fine. My friend already helped me pick out a dress. No point in coming here for nothing." Aldo lets out a sigh of relief, but he still looks a little uneasy. After all, everyone knows me as his clingy girlfriend who can't live without him. In the past, I would have been clinging to him, sobbing and throwing a fit out of jealousy. Aldo holds me in his arms. "Babe, you're really starting to act like the perfect wife. I heard from the butler that you went on a trip. Where did you go?" "I went to Sirdon." I calmly pull away from him. "I went there while you were on the flight to Dubmont." Aldo freezes. One of the things Aldo promises is to take me to the City of Light when he first tells me he loves me. He's always saying he'll take me there when he gets the chance. Three years go by. Then four. Even after getting engaged, he keeps putting it off, always using work as an excuse. Then, Aldo takes Isabella to a new city for another business trip. I've been with Aldo for five years. I suddenly grow tired of waiting for him. If he can't keep the promises he's made to me, I'll fulfill them myself.

Every year, my husband Adrian granted his childhood sweetheart Keira whatever she wished for on her birthday. Last year, he gave her one half of a matching pair of rings. The year before that, he'd used ninety-nine military jets to write "Keira, I love you" across the sky. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, wondering what he'd come up with this year. Keira closed her eyes and made her wish over the birthday candles. "My birthday wish this year is to marry Adrian." The room went dead silent. I stood in the doorway, clutching the lab report that confirmed my pregnancy. Adrian and I had been married for five years, and today I'd finally found out I was pregnant. But faced with Keira's wish, Adrian didn't look the slightest bit troubled. He actually laughed. "That's your wish? Easy." He stood up, walked over, and took my arm, lowering his voice. "Vivian, it's Keira's birthday. She's the birthday girl, and I'm only giving her what she wished for." "Just come with me to sign the divorce papers, and first thing tomorrow morning, we'll remarry." I stared at the man in front of me in disbelief. I had been by his side for five full years, from when he was an ordinary soldier to now, a high-ranking officer. And now he wanted to divorce me for his childhood sweetheart's birthday wish. I gripped the pregnancy report tighter. "But I'm pregnant."

The year was 1983. The sun had set. It was dark outside. Only one dim light was in the Foster family’s living room. “Dad, Mom, I’m willing to live abroad with you.” When they heard their daughter’s words through the phone, Philip York and Angela York were moved to tears of excitement.

I was born with a strange condition. I couldn't recognize faces and could only identify people by their clothes. Vincent Lancaster, my boyfriend, never minded. He said it didn't change the way he loved me. That was, until our wedding day. He answered a phone call. His childhood friend, Grace Langley, was in labor, life hanging by a thread, and she demanded he come immediately. My voice shook with despair. "Vincent! If you drive away now, we'll never be husband and wife!" But he left anyway, not looking back. Grace had always loved seeing him in white, so he threw aside the black suit I had sewn for him with my own hands and changed into white. A year later, Vincent returned. By then, my belly was swollen with life, and I was holding onto another man while hosting a baby shower. And the man wore the black suit Vincent had thrown away. Vincent went mad, claiming he was my husband, but no one believed him.

Selena Vanson, my adopted sister whom my brothers had brought back from the borders, has framed me. She claims that I've laced her birthday cake with wolfsbane. Hence, my brothers throw me into the silver mine, which has long since been sealed off. I scream for mercy while struggling against my bonds with all my might. But all I get is an icy judgment from Leo Wilde, my oldest brother who's the Alpha of the pack. He looks at me with hatred in his eyes, as though he's looking at a filthy beast. "Selena has been taking care of you without minding the fact that you're a low-tier Omega. Yet, you intend to poison her and even kill her wolf out of jealousy toward her blood purity! You deserve to die!" My other two brothers, Luke and Ryan Wilde, have even tied heavy rocks to my limbs for fear that I might escape. "You often act innocent and wronged, but the truth is, you have such a vile heart! Our family is embarrassed to have a lowly Omega like you!" "It's best if you die! No one here wants to see you ever again!" Even my younger brother, Rupert Wilde, who is raised by me, mocks me as well. "Lorraine, you should be sensible. Even without you around, Selly will still be nice to me. But without us, you're nothing but an abandoned mutt." After that, they close the mine's door on me. Silver powder soon rushes into my nose and mouth. I feel as though my body is lit on fire. Pain and agony soon engulf me whole. Once my brothers think that I've been punished enough and want to spare me from the torture, there's nothing left of me inside the mine pit but a pile of blood and bones.

I grew up with Blood Moon’s four future leaders. We’d shared a childhood bond since our first shift and promised to attend the same academy. I had already turned Northwatch down twice to stay with them. Then Chloe returned to our pack, and everything changed. At our graduation party, all four showed me applications to Northwatch Academy. Logan, Blood Moon’s future Alpha, took my hand. “Come north with us, and I’ll mark you as my mate.” I signed. Then I found their secret group chat. [Four fake applications, and she actually agreed to leave.] [Once Audrey’s gone, Chloe can take her place.] They had all applied to the local academy instead. When I confronted them, Logan said Chloe needed them nearby. She’d only just returned. They couldn’t bear to leave her alone. “You’re different. You’ve always been able to take care of yourself.” He didn’t apologize for his promise, either. “We can keep dating until classes start. I’ll visit when I have time.” Instead of arguing, I returned his ring. What they didn’t know was that I hadn’t just signed an academy application. I had also agreed to a five-year pack transfer. Five years in a classified research program. A transfer out of Blood Moon. As Northwatch’s transport crossed the territory line, A transfer out of Blood Moon. Every childhood bond between us severed at the border. They’d gone to so much trouble to secure a future without me. Soon, they would have exactly what they wanted.

When I propose to Hailey Morgan for the 18th time, she turns me down for the sake of her childhood friend, Eric Dawson, once again. We've been dating for eight years. So far, I've proposed 18 times to her. But whenever the proposal takes place, Hailey keeps saying that Eric is depressed, so she can't leave his side. As I look at the ring, I can't resist asking, "If Eric is depressed for the rest of his life, does this mean you won't marry me in this lifetime?" Hailey gets mad at me right away. She snatches the ring before throwing it at the floor. "He's my childhood sweetheart! I can't just ditch him, can I? Besides, you've already endured my rejection 17 times! Can't you just keep enduring it for my sake?"