Familial Bond-Kurzgeschichten & Mistress Countdown-Kurzromane

Just before the wedding starts, Mom suddenly clutches her chest and collapses. I drop everything and rush her to the hospital. The moment we pull up to the emergency room, my phone buzzes with a text in the family group chat. "Davian's at the hospital. I lured him away. You guys can start the wedding now." A second later, Dad replies, "Good. Kayden's already up on the main stage." Then my sister, Elaine Burke, chimes in, "Kayden's waited ten years for this. Now he can finally marry Leah out in the open." Within seconds, all three messages are deleted from the chat. Then my best friend, Simon Cohen, accidentally drops a video clip of the ceremony right into the group. In the video, my younger brother, Kayden Burke, is wearing the tuxedo I had handpicked for myself. My fiancee, Leah Hunter, stands at the end of the aisle, slipping the ring meant for me onto his finger. The same friends and relatives who cheered for me yesterday are now chanting in unison, "Kiss her! Kiss her!" Mom lunges from the hospital bed and snatches the phone out of my hands. The agony on her face is gone, replaced by pure panic at being caught. "Davian, Kayden's waited so long for Leah. He just wants a wedding of his own. You've had Leah for seven years. Just let him have this one time, okay?" I look at the ECG patches still stuck to her chest and let out a cold laugh. Everyone else gets to play the hero in their little drama, and I'm the only fool left in the dark, performing for their amusement.

In the third year of Alex Shaw and Eva Laurent's marriage, her sister-in-law dies in an accident. After her younger brother, Hugh Laurent, returns to the country with his son, Eva decides to name the child her heir. Alex assumes Eva did it out of concern for Hugh, so he goes to her office to discuss the arrangements. Unexpectedly, he overhears her arguing with her best friend, Celia Inman. Celia says, "Eva, you're already married! It's one thing to bring Hugh and his son home without considering Alex's feelings, but now you want to make that child your heir? Have you ever thought about Alex at all? "Hugh is an adopted son of the Laurent family. He's not even your biological younger brother. You really don't have to go this far for him." Eva glances at the little boy sleeping peacefully in her arms. In a gentle voice, she says, "This is Hugh's only son. I have to give him the best so Hugh can feel at ease. Besides, this is my son, too." Hearing those words, Alex freezes in the doorway. It feels as though someone has struck him hard over the head, leaving him with an excruciating headache. The boy everyone thinks is Eva's nephew is actually her son!