Tragic Love Marriage Short Stories & Novels

Three months after I give birth, Nicholas Faulkner finally makes his choice between his mistress and me. He agrees to marry me. Everyone thinks I am hopelessly in love with him and would never give up the chance to secure my position as his wife with our child. But I refuse, give up my son, and leave on my own. Nicholas doesn't take it seriously and says nonchalantly to his friends, "She's just throwing a tantrum. She even poked holes in condoms just so she would end up having my child to make me marry her. How could she possibly let go so easily?" No one expects that I would be gone for five whole years. When we meet again, I am accompanying my husband to a birthday banquet for an elder. A little boy blocks my way. He hugs me and turns to shout behind him, "Dad, I found Mom! You don't have to hold Mom's photo and cry every night anymore!" My heart clenches as I look up and meet Nicholas' reddened eyes.

After the young officer Edward Shaw took first place in a high-profile shooting exhibition attended by senior officials, his family adopted a rather peculiar tradition. At the annual family banquet, he would perform a blindfolded shooting. Whichever woman's token his bullet struck was taken as a sign that she would become his fiancée. Determined to marry him, I placed the handkerchief I had carefully chosen as close to him as possible. Yet, for three consecutive years, his shots hit nothing at all. I told myself the handkerchief must have been too light, too easy to miss. So each year, I replaced it with something more refined, more eye-catching than before. That illusion lasted until the night before my eighteenth birthday, when I happened to overhear him speaking with a friend at a reception. "Miss Jasmine's handkerchief is right in front. Even blindfolded, you should be able to hit it. How do you keep missing every year?" Edward swirled his glass, his tone casual. "Tracy's still young. The moment she hears I'm getting engaged, she starts crying. "I promised I'd wait until she's a little older. As for Jasmine, she's waited for me all these years. It's not like she's going anywhere." With that, he casually tossed his glass into a metal bucket in the corner. It rang out with a sharp, hollow clang. I lowered my gaze and thought of my younger sister, only a year younger than me. So it had never been about the token. It was about the person who placed it there. In that case, there was no reason for me to keep holding on. After all, my father had already arranged a marriage for me. Three days later, at that same family banquet, I would be formally engaged.

During the company’s celebration party, Zenia Andrews, my girlfriend, declared in front of everyone that she was going to get married. Everyone turned to look at me with teasing smiles. “Not bad, Felix; you’re finally tying the knot with Zenia.” However, their smiles stiffened the very next second, because Zenia announced that she was not marrying me, but her assistant. I showed no sign of anger or sadness. I just dug out a wad of cash and threw it in her face. “Get someone else to be his bridegroom. Here’s five hundred dollars. Split it evenly between you two.” Zenia ran over and said airily to me, “Don’t get jealous so easily! I already told you that we’re just going through the motions. He’s a foreigner and wants to get a green card. The easiest way for him to do so is by marrying me. The moment he gets it, we’ll get divorced. Then, I’ll marry you right away, okay? He even prepared a wedding gift for you to repay you!” I just smiled as I listened to her. When she saw that I was not behaving strangely, she nodded in relief and returned to the banquet hall. She trampled all over my love like it was worth nothing. How could I possibly let her trample all over it again? My next reaction was to call our rival company. “We’ll do as we promised last time. I’ll bring all the core patents when I join you.”

On my girlfriend's birthday, I was in the middle of preparing a surprise for her when the property management office of our marital home called first. "Sir, we've received a complaint from another resident," the staff member said. "They claim there's been… quite a bit of noise coming from your unit at night. From you and your wife." I frowned. The only person I had given a key to that apartment was my girlfriend. I called her immediately. She answered with a soft, teasing tone, "They must have made a mistake. I'm at my best friend's place." "Alright," I said evenly. "Enjoy yourself." After hanging up, I opened the smart home system without hesitation and remotely locked every door and window from the outside. Then I dialed the police. "Hello, I'd like to report an unlawful entry."

On our seventh anniversary, an event planner called, already hyping up my wife, Talia. "Ms. Sweeney, we're putting a family photo of you four in the main hall. And some shots of your little princess. That okay? Also, can you confirm your son carrying his sister onstage?" I froze. There were only two people in our house—Talia and me. A family of four? Two kids? I called Talia, the hotel's general manager. She brushed it off. "Probably a client. Wrong number on a contract. I hand out cards all day." I stared at the balloons and flowers I'd set up in the private room—then swiped them all to the floor. Gone. I turned and called my sister, the Director of the Business Compliance Bureau. "Naomi, Talia's cheating. She's got two kids. Get me the best divorce lawyer. I want her out—and out of my hotel."

My grandmother didn't have much time left. Before she passed away, she entrusted me to my boyfriend, Hunter Jones. As we held hands with our fingers interlaced, he promised to register our marriage in front of my grandmother's sickbed. However, the day after we registered our marriage, Sarah Moore, Hunter's female colleague, posted a picture of a marriage certificate with her and Hunter's names on it. There was a caption, stating, 'I know you have no choice but to agree to marry her. But as long as I'm the person you love most, I'm satisfied with only one month.' I went to find Hunter, intending to question him about what was going on. Instead, I overheard him chatting with his friend. "I'm indebted to Audrey's grandmother. I promised her that I would take care of Audrey for the rest of my life, so I have to take responsibility for her. As for Sarah, I can die without regrets if I can be her husband for a month in this life." His friend laughed and said, "Poor Audrey White. Aren't you afraid she'll get angry and run away when she finds out that the marriage certificate you got her was fake?" Hunter fell silent for a moment. "She will never find out. I'll just tell her that there was an error in the registration system and that we need to re-register. Audrey trusts me so much. She won't suspect anything," he added. However, his plans shattered when he tried to contact me to re-register our marriage. That was because he received my wedding gift for him, along with a wish that he and Sarah would have a long and happy life instead.

My best friend, Mia Sullivan, had gone abroad for three years. When she finally came back, she was in tears. She said she had been dumped by a scumbag, was pregnant, and had nowhere to go. I felt terrible for her, so I not only let her move into my house but also asked my husband, Hudson Darby, to take extra care of her. That was until I found a prenatal checkup receipt in the study. The patient was Mia, and the family member who had signed was Hudson. I worried I was jumping to conclusions, so I shoved it back and rushed out the door. After I got downstairs, I realized I had forgotten the files I needed for my meeting, so I headed back up. That was when I saw Hudson and Mia in each other's arms. "What if Charlotte finds out the baby I'm carrying is actually yours?" Mia asked. "Don't worry. Charlotte trusts us so much, there's no way she'll figure it out," Hudson replied. In that moment, the seven years of love I had given him instantly turned into a cruel joke.

I'd made plans to spend New Year's Eve with my fiancee, Sophie Bennett. I'd even rushed home with a custom cake I picked up just for us. However, my smile slipped the second I walked in. A photo of Sophie and me that was hanging on the wall was being used as a dartboard. Her guy best friend, Sean Hewitt, had one arm wrapped around her waist while casually throwing darts at it. "Oh, hey, you're back?" he said with a grin. "Perfect timing. We're playing Truth or Dare." The words had barely left his mouth when another dart hit the photo—right in my face. My chest tightened as I parted my lips to call him out. Yet, Sean only laughed. "Wow, hit you again? Guess even fate thinks you two aren't meant to be." Then, he added, all fake innocence, "Don't get the wrong idea, alright? It's just a game. Sophie and I are basically bros. You're not seriously bothered by this, are you?" I stood there, completely still. As I stared at that photo completely riddled with holes, I couldn't help but think it looked a lot like my heart at that moment. Sophie gave him a half-hearted scolding. "Alright, cut it out." But Sean just put on a wounded look and kept his arm around her waist. Sophie only smiled helplessly before turning to me with clear impatience. "Sean's just messing around. Don't stand there with that look on your face and kill the mood. It's just a photo. We can print another one tomorrow. Stop being so petty."

Gabriel Black and I had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and when we reached adulthood, our families arranged our engagement. From the day the engagement was announced, I started counting down the days. However, Gabriel thought the whole thing was unfair. “Other people get to fall in love a few times in their lives. Why should I be stuck with just you my whole life? You should date a few people, too. Don’t shortchange yourself.” And he meant it. In the year after our engagement, Gabriel went through seven girlfriends. Every time he changed partners, I would simply smile and say it didn’t matter. After all, I thought he would always come back to me. That was until the eighth girlfriend came along. He brought her to the Black family’s annual banquet. She clung to his arm and called him Gabe. I quietly set down my utensils. Right there in front of both families, I took out the engagement agreement and slid it to the center of the table. “Gabriel,” I said calmly, “you were right. Staying loyal to just one person really is a loss.” Later, I stood before him again, this time with my hand linked with the only son of the Graham family. Gabriel smashed his glass on the spot. For the first time, his eyes turned red. “Erin, what do you mean by this?” I smiled and said, “Didn’t you tell me to try dating, too? Well, I did, and it suits me just fine.”

Everyone in the upper circles knew I was the Xander family’s delicate little porcelain doll, someone who could not tolerate even the slightest grievance. I always had to sit in the seat of honor at gatherings. My drinks had to be served ice-cold. If anything annoyed me even a little, I would have my childhood friends clear the room. That was, until the fallen heiress returned. She did not rely on men. She had built her own business from scratch and was ruthless in the boardroom, radiating a wild, untamed beauty. Slowly, my dear brothers began to find me insufferable and too high-maintenance. When they pulled their investments from my gallery to back her projects instead, only my fiancé stayed by my side, comforting me. “Forget them. They’re all opportunists. I’ll always keep you safe in the palm of my hand!” That was until one day, I saw that same proud fiancé bent low like a servant, humbly wiping wine stains off the heiress's shoes in a corner of a club. His eyes were filled with a devotion I had never seen before. “All I need is one look from you, and I’ll drop the whole wedding.” I took off my engagement ring and tossed it into the drain. Then, I went home and told my grandfather, “Grandpa, I’m going to Africa for that development aid project. “I’ll agree to the arranged marriage. Just don’t make me see them again."

All of Italy knew Kayson Moretti was obsessed with me. He was the untouchable Don of the Moretti family, a man who never lost control in public, yet he broke every rule for me. He declared his love at a gathering of the most powerful mafia families in the country, then bought an entire private island just to build me a glass-domed garden when he proposed. For years, he laid the world at my feet—power, jewels, territory, status. If I wanted something, Kayson didn’t promise it. He made it mine. That was why everyone believed I was the luckiest woman in Italy. They were wrong. Because the same man who swore he would die for me was sleeping with his private secretary behind my back. Worse, he got her pregnant. The day she sent me her ultrasound, their bed photos, and every intimate secret she thought would destroy me, I didn’t cry. I didn’t beg. I didn’t confront him. Instead, I erased every trace I had ever left in his world. My name. My accounts. My records. My past. I staged my death. I let the world believe I had died in a private jet crash.

At the end of the year, I went to the spa and discovered a stranger had been using my VIP card. When I logged into my personal profile, the last three treatment records were not under my name. The preference section listed specific details about someone else. She was allergic to rose essential oil, preferred lavender, and her heating pad temperature could not exceed 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Her menstrual cycle fell around the 15th of each month, so no waist or abdomen treatments during that time. I stared at the screen, my palms turning cold. Only my husband, Zachary White, knew this password. At the time, he said he needed it to check the balance and renew my membership. I scrolled down and found a system note at the bottom: [Birthday treatment reserved for December 30, prepared according to Ms. Anderson's preferences.] Today was December 30. My phone vibrated. Zachary had sent a message: [Working late tonight. Won't be home.] Familiar laughter drifted from the hallway. Through the glass door, I watched Zachary walk into the adjacent room with his arm around a woman, the beautician hurrying forward to greet them. "Mr. White, we have Ms. Anderson's birthday treatment ready, just as you requested."

In the third year of chasing the famously untouchable Hayden Lane, I still hadn't managed to marry him. The Lane family had an old rule. Any woman who wanted to marry into the family had to personally draw a fortune stick and receive a supreme blessing. I tried ninety-nine times. Every single time, the result was the worst possible omen. Before my hundredth draw, I personally saw Hayden replacing every fortune stick inside the cylinder. "No matter how many times she tries, she can only draw the worst omen." At that moment, I finally understood that he truly didn't love me. But that was fine. I didn't want to marry him anymore either. I tossed the fortune cylinder aside and turned away. Then I called my parents. "I accept the marriage alliance with the York family."

My Alpha mate cheated on me with an Omega we had kindly taken in. Six months ago, at the Pack ceremony, their sex video was projected onto the big screen. I felt the blood drain from my body in a single heartbeat. I made a scene. Forced Cain to swear in front of the entire Pack Alliance assembly that he would cut ties with Vivienne. He made his vow. And yes, he came back. The first time we attended a multi-pack banquet together after our so-called reconciliation, a Luna who'd always had it in for me stepped into my path. "Wren, what exactly are you so proud of? You threw a fit across the whole pack — catching your mate in the act, making sure every last person saw that video. What kind of Luna makes a spectacle of herself like that?" "Your Alpha didn't even mark her. And you went nuclear over it? Cain must've done something truly terrible in a past life to end up with a Luna like you." I turned to Cain. Waiting for him to speak. A denial. A defense. Even a single word. He lowered his eyes and said nothing. Something inside my head shattered. A few days later, I saw Vivienne at the market on the edge of pack territory. All because she accidentally knocked over a shelf, the shop owner raised his hand to slap her. Before the slap could land, Cain appeared out of nowhere. I had never seen Cain use that level of dominance on anyone. Three years ago, I was attacked by rogue wolves. Nearly died from the injuries. When Cain arrived, his expression was cold and composed. Today, he nearly lost it — because an Omega got slapped. Almost in the same second, my phone lit up. An official notification from the Alpha Council filled the screen: [Luna Wren, the Mate Bond dissolution documents you commissioned have been prepared.] But why did the usually calm Alpha went crazy after I left?

After seven years of loving Kael, the Vampire Prince, he finally agreed to marry me as a human. But there was a condition—he wanted me to donate one of my kidneys to my younger sister, who was suffering from renal failure. I agreed without hesitation. Relieved, Kael handed me the marriage application and promised that once the surgery was complete, we would hold the wedding. What he didn't know… was that I only had twenty-four hours left to live.

After catching Gideon Hawthorne cheating on me for the 99th time, he decides to sleep with the fake heiress, Helena Fairchild, just to get back at me. When I catch him and Helena together in bed together red-handed, instead of feeling guilty for what he's done, he just grins at me maliciously. "Ophelia, your sister feels a lot tighter than you." In my previous life, when I heard Gideon's comment, I broke down on the spot and started kicking up a huge ruckus over the matter. I even spread intimate, racy photos of Gideon and Helena all over the world on the Internet. Unable to endure my lunatic tendencies anymore, Gideon chose to divorce me. As for my parents, they completely gave up on me and cast me out of the family. I thought things would be better for me, and yet reality taught me otherwise. I practically had to raise myself in the countryside for the past 18 years. Even if I got reunited with my biological family, I still had no survival skills to fall back on. On top of that, the Hawthornes kept exacting revenge on me, causing me to starve all the time. A few years later, I died from cancer. As for Helena, she ended up marrying Gideon and became a rich aristocrat in the upper crust. To think that I, the ex-wife, was reduced to everyone's laughingstock at the end of the day… When I open my eyes again, I've returned to the day Gideon and Helena have slept together.

After getting drunk, my husband’s childhood sweetheart drove and ran over my seventy-year-old mother, crushing her into a mangled corpse. She died on the spot. However, my CEO husband, Jason, insisted on signing a settlement on her behalf. “My mother-in-law was committing insurance fraud. She deliberately lay under the tires. She should bear full responsibility.” Not only did he get his childhood sweetheart, Olivia, cleared of all charges, but he also transferred the 10,000,000-dollar insurance payout from my mother to her as emotional damages. “Olivia and I grew up together. I cannot just watch her go to prison and ruin her life. Be reasonable and stop making a fuss.” After leaving the police station, Olivia made a post on social media. [Jason standing up for me was so amazing. Childhood sweethearts really are forever family!] Jason liked her post right in front of me. I remained terrifyingly calm. “Jason, let us get a divorce.” He scoffed. “You’re just saying that to make me comfort you, right? Megan, you are 30 years old. Can you stop being childish?” I had brought up divorce countless times, and he never believed I would truly leave. What he did not know was that among the case documents he had just signed, there was a divorce agreement. He had already signed it himself.

On the eve of Valentine's Day, the entire Ravenport is waiting for Vivian Grayson's scores to be released. They're all watching to see if my score is high enough to attend her family banquet this year. The Grayson family has made it clear that their future son-in-law will be chosen at that banquet. Yet, after seven years of dating Vivian, I come in second every single time. This had made me the biggest joke in the city. This year is no exception. Vivian throws herself into the arms of the male model, Jason Carter, who ranks first. She says matter-of-factly, "I really like the way he smells. You understand, right, Noah? Next year, I'll definitely make you number one." The lively atmosphere in the banquet hall drops to freezing point. Everyone is waiting for me to tear that smug look off Jason's face. But I don't lose my temper like before. I simply say calmly, "Congratulations." A victorious smile appears on Vivian's face. "You've finally learned to control your temper, Noah. You're not far from becoming the Graysons' son-in-law." I nod indifferently. I am about to become someone else's son-in-law, but not the Grayson family's. I have disagreed and argued with my family for the past seven years. Now, it's time to follow their arrangement and go abroad to honor the marriage they set up for me.

My request to transfer back to the headquarters was once again rejected in my sixth year on the frontline. The official reason was that spouses were not allowed to work in the same hospital, supposedly to prevent workplace romance. The reason failed to convince me. I secretly returned to Kingsfield, hoping to get an answer from my superior. … Outside the office, I overheard the conversation between him and my husband, George Durand. My superior started, "You have been keeping Ivy's application on hold over the last five years for Mia, but Ivy is hitting the age limit next year. This is her last chance to be transferred back." George's expression did not change. "That position has to go to Mia. Ivy can stay where she is. Mia has a promising future. She can't lose this opportunity." My superior argued back, "Staying at headquarters is Ivy's dream too. You manipulated me into sending her to the frontline, and then you kept blocking her transfer requests. "As for Mia, she failed her assessment. Without your protection, she would've been dismissed long ago. Are you really going to keep covering for her?" Anger contorted George's face. "Everyone knows Ivy is my wife! Nobody will pick on her! Unlike her, Mia doesn't have a special background. She won't survive the battlefield. I'll take Mia under my wing and train her personally. Nobody is touching her without my permission." I called the lawyer with tears in my eyes. "Please prepare the divorce papers for me," I said. "As soon as possible." I let five years of my life go to waste, only to discover that George had found another woman. Since there was no more love between us, I would stop clinging to him.

My wife, Sophia Shelby, spent a fortune snatching a kidney donor from my mother, only to save her ex-boyfriend’s life. Meanwhile, my mother had been waiting for three years. Before my mother died, she wanted to see our child. I told her it was gone. Sophia had aborted our child for the sake of her infertile ex-boyfriend, James Carl. She had chosen to go through IVF with him. I had charged into the hospital and confronted Sophia, but James stopped me. “She’s my wife! What gives you the right to keep me from seeing her?!” “She’s pregnant with my child.” I flew into a fit of anger. Barging into the ward, I shouted at Sophia, “I want a divorce!” Inside, Sophia replied to me with irritation, “Divorce it is! Why are you yelling at James?”