Plot Twists Romance Short Stories & CEO Regret Novels

My fiance, Adrian Hale, and I had planned to go snorkeling on Valentine's Day. The day we landed in the south of France, I discovered that his first love, Vivian Clarke, had come with us. They insisted on heading into unpatrolled waters. "But those waters are dangerous, shrouded in strange rumors..." Adrian frowned at me. "Sophie, do you have to ruin the mood right now?" Vivian smiled and hooked her arm through his. "With you here, nothing is going to happen to us." Once we were in the water, Vivian recklessly swam toward the deeper channel. A swell shoved half her body into a narrow opening. I swam over to pull her free, but she thrashed and drove her heel hard into my knee. Her elbow knocked my mask crooked. Before I could straighten it, Vivian kicked me into the opening. Adrian came up behind us, grabbed Vivian, and held her hand tight. The voices over my underwater headset were muffled, but I still heard Adrian's cold warning clearly. "Vivi doesn't know these waters. You do, don't you? "You led her into deeper water on purpose. Who exactly were you trying to hurt? "Figure your own way out. Consider it the lesson you've earned!" Briny seawater flooded my throat. My aching legs kicked uselessly. My body was wedged fast in the opening. I closed my eyes in despair. My last thought was this: if I died, they deserved to pay with their lives.

I was saving up to open a flagship bakery downtown, so I ran a half-price promotion on custom cakes for couples. My first customer was a young woman dressed to impress. "My boyfriend and I have been together for six months. Whenever my stomach hurts, he'll drop everything, even an important meeting, just to make me soup. When my depression and anxiety get bad, he'll stay on a video call with me all night. We're crazy about each other. He promised to propose once he gets his bonus this year." She couldn't stop smiling as she spoke to the camera. I reached for my sketchbook to start designing her cake when the door opened. A man walked in with an iced Americano and headed straight for her. I glanced up and froze. It was Lucas Shaw. My fiancé. The same man who had texted me minutes ago, claiming a work emergency would keep him at the office late. "Sophia, this is my boyfriend." Before I could confront him, my phone buzzed. "Sophia, Lillian has severe depression. She cut her wrists six months ago. I'm only pretending to be her boyfriend to keep her from doing anything drastic. Please be patient with me. Her therapy ends next month. Once she's better, I'll tell her the truth, end things with her, and marry you." I stared at the messages, my stomach churning with disgust. So he was only pretending to be her boyfriend for her own good? Fine. It was time to take out the trash, and I'd start with him. I didn't want him anymore.