Marriage Escape 단편 소설 & 소설

On the day of our daughter's full-month celebration, Harvey McKinzie walked onto the stage holding the hand of his widowed, heavily pregnant sister-in-law. "Honey, to be honest with you—my sister-in-law's baby is mine." His parents followed behind, looking completely unapologetic. "We're the ones who made it happen. We drugged them. Our oldest son may be gone, but the family can't be without an heir. "Harvey is taking on the responsibility of carrying on both family lines—it hasn't been easy for him. From now on, you need to take good care of Lydia and the child she's carrying." The sister-in-law, now eight months pregnant, glanced at me shyly. "Jennifer, we're sister-wives now." I stood there frozen, holding my daughter, my voice trembling. "Why are you doing this to me?" Harvey frowned and let out a long sigh. "You're always saying how hard Lydia has it, right? Isn't it better if I just take care of her openly and properly? "I promise—you'll be the first wife, and she'll be the second. On paper, you're still my only legal wife." In that moment, my blood ran cold. Then, for the first time in a long while, I heard the system's alert in my head. [Host emotional fluctuation detected. Would you like to use all remaining points to exit the current world?]

When my wedding gets delayed for the 99th time, I call the company in charge of planning the wedding and tell them to swap my name out for Julian Foster's childhood sweetheart, Madison Hart. "We understand what you mean, Ms. Sinclair. But are you sure you want to make the change? It seems that Mr. Foster has no intention of delaying the wedding this time." As I listen to the shocked host's words, I stare at the draft on the monitor. Groom: Julian Foster Bride: Olivia Sinclair But the design's special note shows, "Adjust the theme according to champagne yellow, Madison's favorite color." Madison is Julian's childhood sweetheart. Even though he claims that she's only lending a hand in referencing the wedding's designs, the truth is, she's the one calling the shots in the wedding's flower arrangement, wedding gifts, as well as the wedding anthem during the bride's entrance. She even leaves an airy comment about my wedding dress. "A fishtail gown suits her more." After dragging the document into the recycle bin, I reply calmly, "Yes. Please change the bride's name to Madison." I shall return the wedding that's filled with Madison's traces to her and Julian without altering a single thing. After that, I will retreat from this bunch of nonsense unscathed. Finally, we shall part ways permanently. Julian can stay with the woman he truly wants to be with, while I can enjoy the unbridled freedom on my own.

My ex-boyfriend, the Don's heir, was getting married today. In the grand reception hall, the bride, Elena, moved through the crowd with a champagne flute in hand, toasting the bosses and captains who'd flown in from across the island. In the dressing room, Luca had me pinned against the gown the bride had just changed out of, fucking me hard. The mirror gave me back a stranger, hair tangled, not a stitch of clothing left on me, my neck covered in marks he'd left like a signature. The camera on the side table blinked red. Three knocks at the door. Luca stood up, straightened the white rose boutonniere on his lapel, picked up the black earpiece from the table and pressed it in. He tossed it at me without looking. "One night. Half a million euros. Anna, you're even pricier than I remembered." I watched his back as he walked out, and picked up the check with shaking hands. Rosa, don't be scared. Mama's got the money to save you.

Jasper Eaton decides to ditch me at the altar just so he can meet up with Wendy Klein, his ex-girlfriend who abandoned him when he almost got crippled five years ago. All the guests are stunned, to say the least. I can only tug at Jasper's hem of his shirt while trying very hard to keep my expression intact. "Can you please stay with me now?" Mixed feelings cross his eyes, but he soon wrenches my hand off him, finger by finger. At the same time, he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but I must go now. I need to ask Wendy why she was so heartless to me back then." Amid the crowd's shocked gasps and murmurs, Jasper leaves without even looking back. My dad, who has a bad heart, trembles violently out of fury. I can only stare in a shocked daze as he collapses to the floor shortly after. "Dad!" I break down on the spot. Still, I manage to send him to the hospital. There, I slump outside the emergency room. At that moment, my phone buzzes for a short while. Two new text messages have shown up on my screen. The first message comes from Wendy. "I told you that as long as I'm back, Jasper will never choose you. You lost again, Celeste." The second message comes from Jasper. "Give me 30 days. We'll break up for the time being. Once the period is over, I'll definitely love you and you only." My gaze is already hollow at that point. The smile curving on my lips is one of mockery and bitterness. This time, I will never lose ever again.

On the night of the blood moon, I seduced the Alpha every she-wolf dreamed about. I only wanted to see what Cain looked like when he lost control. I never thought that after that one night he'd hold me through every full moon, lock me against his chest, and murmur the same three words into my ear, over and over: my little wolf. Then his first love came back. And I got thrown out like garbage. He tore the wolf out of me, drove me from my pack, and left me with nothing but the open road and a rogue's name. I held on for three years. What I got at the end of them was the Luna sash that should have been mine, tied around Seraphine's waist by his own hands. So this time, I let go. I cut my bloodline, rode north, and agreed to marry a wolf who would treat me like something precious. Yet it was this very moment that the proud, cold Alpha who never bowed to anyone dropped to his knees in front of the whole pack and begged me to come back.

Our butler, Cal Pinkham, was determined to marry his daughter off to some rich young heir and have him take her family name. So, when my nearsighted son, Christopher Settle, who was working on his PhD, accidentally glanced at his daughter one too many times, Cal somehow convinced himself that Christopher had fallen for her. His daughter was forty, unemployed, and still needed her food blown cool and spoon-fed to her at meals. Even so, Cal kept trying to parade her in front of me like a prize whenever the opportunity presented itself. “Becky looks like the cutest little piglet when she eats. She’s absolutely adorable. I took pictures. Here, take a look. You wouldn’t understand the joy of having a daughter, not when you only have a son. These days, daughters are the ones who actually show up for their parents when they get old. “But don’t you worry. As long as your son takes my family’s last name, gives us a $100,000 wedding gift, and agrees that their children must have our last name too, I’ll even let my precious little girl look after you in your golden years too.” I shoved his hand away in disgust and immediately called the agency to find me a reliable replacement butler. Before I could find a suitable replacement, the $15,000 designer necklace I had bought for Christopher suddenly went missing. I confronted Cal about it. He answered without a hint of guilt. “Oh, I took it. We’re practically family now. Anything you buy for Christopher will belong to Becky sooner or later anyway. I just cashed it in early and used the money to buy your future daughter-in-law a car, so she won’t have to ride around on that scooter anymore in the rain or cold. Christopher would never stand for seeing her like that.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, teasing as if we were sharing some private joke. I was so furious I nearly saw red. “Who cares about that overgrown pig you call a daughter?” Then, I picked up my phone and called the police.

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!"

I have a secret. When I was a child, I became very sick. When I finally woke up, I realized I could see the true colors hidden in people's hearts. Candy pink meant tenderness. Magenta meant desire. Pale gold meant longing for something you could never have. Slate blue meant lies. Dark brown meant hurt and resentment. At our engagement party, when my fiancé, Luca Vitali, kissed me, I saw the room fill with soft candy pink. But a second later, a wave of vivid magenta rushed in and swallowed the pink completely. I looked up in shock. His arms were around me, but his eyes were fixed on someone at the far end of the banquet hall. It was his childhood sweetheart, Charlotte. I thought it was just my imagination, until he pulled Charlotte into a dressing room. He kissed the side of Charlotte's neck. "After the wedding, I'll send Nicole overseas. You know I'm only marrying her because I promised my father. Please, Charlotte. You're the only one I want to be with." After five years of loving him, I finally realized I had been nothing more than a stepping stone to him. I turned around, canceled the wedding, and vanished into the rainy night. From that moment on, I would be someone they could never hope to reach.

I had always needed too much reassurance, and for three years, Dante Romano had given it to me. Whenever he came home late or failed to answer his phone, I imagined the worst. And whenever I couldn’t sleep, I made him leave whatever he was doing and come home to me. During one of those needy episodes, strange lines of text appeared before my eyes. 【The Don of the Romano family is handling family business. You really think he has time to put you to bed?】 【She’s only an ordinary woman he kept because she looks like Bianca DeLuca.】 【The real Bianca is coming back from Europe. Once she does, this substitute is finished.】 Suddenly, Dante’s patience no longer felt like love. It felt like tolerance. When he came home and reached for me, I pulled away. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I finally understand.” “Understand what?” “That real love means giving each other freedom.” From that night on, he no longer had to report his schedule, answer every call, or come home because I couldn’t sleep. If I stopped clinging to him and quietly disappeared when Bianca returned, maybe Dante would let me leave safely. But before I could step away, he pulled me hard against his chest. “Baby,” he said softly, “did I do something to upset you?”

My parents came all the way from a small town in Texas to New York just to talk about our wedding plans. But my fiancé—the Rossi family's Don—was late. My mom smiled, trying to comfort me. "Traffic's probably just bad. It's okay, your dad and I can wait a bit longer." That "wait" lasted three hours. I called him a fifth time before he finally picked up. Marcello didn't even sound apologetic. "Someone broke into Valerie's apartment. She's terrified and won't stop crying. I have to stay and calm her down." I went quiet. This wasn't the first time. Valerie always found some excuse to drag Marcello away from me, and Marcello always gave me the same line: "She's like a little sister to me. Stop making a big deal out of nothing." Because I was just a civilian with a normal background, our marriage had been mocked and questioned by his world from day one. I used to tell myself I could tough it out, all because I loved him. But now, my mom looked at me with pure worry. "Cora, do you really have to marry him?" "I just feel like... with his attitude, and who he is... if he ever hurts you, we won't be able to protect you at all." My dad let out a heavy sigh. My nails dug hard into my palms. Mom was right. I stood up abruptly. "The wedding is off. Let's go."

For the fourth time, Sienna stood me up at the marriage registry to take care of her adopted younger brother. “Kane, Ryan’s mental stability index is nearing critical levels again. I’m the only one who can stabilize him. Can you wait a little longer for me?” I glanced at the clock on the wall. The registry office would close in fifteen minutes. This time, I said nothing. I simply tossed our registration form into the void behind me. In an age when mutated beasts ravaged the world and two-pilot mechas ruled the battlefield, I was the only person in the entire Alliance capable of piloting one alone. Yet for ten years, I had willingly served as Sienna’s personal co-pilot, risking my life through countless battles and lifting her to the pinnacle of power. But no matter how much I sacrificed for her, I could never compare to Ryan—the sickly orphan her father had adopted, whom she had always treated as her helpless little brother. I earned a high-grade armored suit with my military merits, only for Sienna to hand it to Ryan without a second thought. “Kane, you’re strong enough without it. Ryan is frail. For my sake, can’t you let him have it?” I spent countless nights developing a tactical program, only for her to give that to Ryan as well. “He scares easily, so he needs something foolproof. You’re a genius. You can operate the mecha manually, can’t you?” Sienna was certain I would never leave her. What she didn’t know was that the Alliance’s iron-willed female governor had been waiting a long time for my answer to her marriage proposal.