Melodramatic Romance Short Stories & Countdown Novels

"There's still half a year left before the contract is up. I'm getting ready to file for a divorce from Steven." As Celine Harlow speaks, she looks at the video which has been replayed on her iPad over a hundred times. In the video, her husband, Steven Kirk, keeps staring at his childhood sweetheart, Quinn Lambert, lovingly. "Oh, Quinn! I still can't forget about you at all! Will you please return to my side?" After that, he takes the initiative to capture Quinn's lips in a kiss. Meanwhile, Celine's son, Zane Kirk, whom she has risked her life giving birth to, keeps screaming at the top of his lungs, "Daddy, I want Quinn as my mommy!" Celine's resolve to leave her marriage behind is steeled even more. On the other end of the line, Steven's mother, Evelyn Kennedy, falls silent for a moment. She then advises Celine to think through her decision carefully. "You have to think this through. If you get divorced, not only will you have to give up on your current job, but you also won't be able to obtain any assets because of the contract." Celine doesn't hesitate at all. "I know. Since our marriage certificate is fake, I'll definitely get divorced without asking for a single cent. Don't worry." But Evelyn tries to get Celine to stay. "If you insist on getting a divorce, you won't get the custody over Zane. Are you sure you have the heart to never see him again?"

I begged Dylan Leveson three hundred and four times to take my dying dad on one last trip out to sea. Guess what? He bailed. I stood on the shore, watching the warmth fade from my dad's body, breath by breath—alone—while Dylan played Romeo in the highlands. Millie Stone—his forever flame—posted a cozy little selfie: [Far from the world, as long as I have you.] I accidentally hit like. Dylan popped up instantly. [How many times have I told you to leave Millie alone? Can't control yourself? We're getting a divorce!] Oh, the classic divorce threat. I'd lost count. [Cool. Divorce it is.]

After Heath Renwick abandons me and our daughter for Celeste Worthing's dog for the seventh time, we finally learn our lesson. He parades around with Celeste and the dog, trending online, landing magazine features, and I don't say a word. He even tears up our daughter Maisie's favorite sketchbook to line the dog's bed, and she doesn't cry or make a fuss. Then the dog chases Maisie down a flight of stairs. She hits her head and ends up in the ER with a concussion, and only then does Heath bother to show up. "Raven! Why didn't you tell me? I'm Maisie's father too!" I spend the whole night sitting outside the emergency room. I look at him, my voice perfectly calm. "It's nothing serious, just a mild concussion. She'll be out in a couple of days. We know you're busy, so Maisie will understand." Heath freezes. "A concussion is serious, and you're telling me it's nothing? What kind of a mother are you?" He wants to blow up, but the whispers around him stop him short. "Mr. Renwick really is better suited for Ms. Worthing. If she hadn't gone abroad back then, a small-town woman like Raven would never have had a chance." "Exactly. She can't even keep her own child safe." Heath frowns. "There's nothing going on with Celeste. She's like a sister to me!" I nod. "I believe you. "Maisie fell down the stairs because Prince chased her. I know that dog means everything to Celeste, so I didn't bring it up. I didn't want to put you in a difficult position." A flicker of shame crosses Heath's face. "I'll find the best doctor for Maisie. Prince is everything to Celeste, you know that. She has mental health issues." "Mr. Renwick, I understand. Maisie doesn't need to call you Dad anymore." He panics. "If you're upset, just say so! Stop putting on this act and dragging the kid into it!" I nod. "Okay. I got it." I'm not planning to make a scene. I already have plane tickets to Eraly. In five days, we'll have nothing to do with each other anymore.

I dated my lawyer boyfriend for five years. He canceled our wedding. Fifty-two times. First time? His intern messed up some paperwork. He ditched me at the beach to fix it. I waited all day. Alone. Second time, we were mid-ceremony when he bolted. Heard that intern was getting heat from another lawyer and left me to face the guests and their stares. After that, every time we tried again, there was always some "emergency" with her. Always. I finally hit my limit. I was done. Packed up and broke it off. But the day I left Ainsley? He totally lost it trying to find me.

My dad may be an idiot, but he's loaded. I may be useless at everything, but at least I'm pretty. My older sister, Yvonne Quinn, is the only smart one in the family. She has grand ambitions, so she has no interest in inheriting our little family business. In the end, Dad makes the call and picks the poorest but most even-tempered guy among the top-ranking students to marry me and join the Quinn family. As it turns out, Dad has an excellent eye for people. Yannick Jordan really is the perfect husband. He's strikingly handsome and refined, gentle and patient by nature, and thoughtful and attentive in everything he does. In just two years, he becomes a rising star in the business world, and I become the Mrs. Jordan everyone envies. But he has one fatal flaw: he's far too devoted to his career. Once our honeymoon is over, I'm left enduring two long years of a marriage in name only. If I want to see him, I have to book an appointment a month in advance. If I want to have dinner with him, I have to wait until he's done with countless meetings, business engagements, and negotiations. But Yvonne never has to wait. After all, she and Yannick aren't just partners in a joint venture. They're also trusted allies who always have each other's backs. Together, they weather malicious schemes from rival companies, survive the darkest days of a financial crisis, and work side by side through countless nights until dawn breaks. Everyone praises them as an unbeatable power couple in the business world, a match made in heaven who seem unstoppable together. But I'm the only one who feels like a thorn between them.

The day my overseas assignment finally ended, I kept my return a secret from Marielle Knox and spent thirteen hours flying home. We'd argued only a few days earlier. Marielle wanted me to keep building my career abroad, but I was determined to come home and marry her. Even as I was about to board, she was still trying to talk me out of it over the phone. "Weston, don't throw away your future for me. As long as we love each other, it doesn't matter whether we get married." Hearing that only made me more certain. The moment I landed, I went straight to a jewelry store, bought a diamond ring, and called my childhood best friend, Chase Davis, to tell him about my proposal plan. A baby was wailing on his end of the line. Chase tried to soothe the child and snapped at me, "Weston Brown, wake up! You've been long-distance for five years, and she keeps putting off the wedding. She obviously doesn't want to marry you. "Marriage is where love goes to die. Ever since my wife had the baby, I've been losing my mind!" I was about to argue when I saw Chase walk out of a baby store, holding a child. "My wife's here. Talk later." He hung up in a hurry and waved toward the curb. A black luxury sedan pulled up in front of him. The door opened, and a woman took the baby from his arms and rocked him with the ease of someone who'd done it a thousand times. Sunlight fell across her profile, and the sight stung my eyes. The wife my best friend had kept secret for two years was Marielle—the girlfriend I'd spent five years loving from the other side of the world.

To make up for past regrets with his first love, my husband, Pierce Ronan, lied that he could see everyone’s lifespan. He told me I had sixty years left, but his first love, Jessica Stone, had only seven days to live. So, for those seven days, he said he had to fulfill the promises of their youth. He brought her home, cared for her, and when they went back to their old college campus to relive their love, I didn’t protest. When he confessed his love to her and planned the wedding of the century, asking me to be the bridesmaid, I didn’t raise my voice. It wasn’t until he wanted to break the final taboo — in our marital bedroom — that he looked at me with guilt in his eyes and begged me to move out. The housemaids watched, snickering behind their hands, but I only smiled and nodded in agreement. I packed my bags, carried our child, and moved into the guest room next door. Seeing how obedient I remained, Pierce was touched. “I promise, this will be the last time I wrong you. Once Jessica passes, I’ll make it up to you.” What he didn’t know was that I had already seen through his lies. What he also didn’t know was that the one truly dying of cancer, the one with only seven days left to live, was me. Three days remained. Then, I would be gone.

Ethan Hale was the name every pilot at North Ridge Air Base looked up to. I was Ava Morgan, his wife and his only flight partner. To earn my ace qualification, I had to complete three final evaluation missions within the review period. I failed all three. I refused to accept it as coincidence, so I followed the access logs, flight records, and maintenance files until every abnormal detail pointed to one person. Chloe Bennett. When I took the evidence to Ethan, I heard him arguing with his deputy, Liam Reed, behind the office door. "You are putting Chloe forward for the ace-track recommendation? She can barely hold steady in a back seat," Liam said, his anger barely restrained. "Ava is my wife and my flight partner. Chloe is different. She has nothing." Standing outside the door, I suddenly laughed. Then I turned around and accepted the return offer from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Before I left, I gave Ethan three things. And he would regret them for the rest of his life.

It was the fourth anniversary of our relationship. Heather Hilmann took her friend Liam Sherr and me went to have barbecue together. The waiter recognized them and smiled, asking, "Still the usuals?" Heather nodded. It was a table by the window for two, and Liam sat on the inside. The ribeye had slightly charred edges, and the dipping sauce had no onions. She gave the first piece and the last piece to Liam. I sat near the aisle, and there was not even a dipping‑sauce dish in front of me. When they paid the bill, the waiter checked the membership records and reminded them with a smile, "Ms. Hilmann and Mr. Sherr, tonight was your 100th visit. You can take your customized grill pan home." A line of words was engraved on the back of the grill pan: [Heather and Liam, Together Forever.] The date was three years ago. I then remembered that Heather had been at the hospital celebrating my birthday that day. It turned out that the two hours she had been away were not for a company meeting. Liam touched the engraving and asked her with a smile, "After you and Ian Jeffrey get married, will we still have our monthly get‑together?"

My wife and I were both liars. She lied to me 99 times. "I'll forget all about him, I swear." That man was her first love. She never did forget about him. I only lied to her one time. To get her to sign the divorce papers. Time came to the final day of the cooling-off period. Three hours before it was up, I packed up all my stuff and bought a flight ticket to another country. Two hours before it was up, I cut up all my photos that had her in it, leaving only myself. One hour before it was up, I placed the divorce papers on the table. When she saw the papers, they drove her mad.

I'm the human shield Daniela Falcone—the underworld queen—personally chose to protect her first love, Luca Bianchi. We're three years into our marriage, and this is already the eighth time her rivals have kidnapped me. Daniela arrives with her men to rescue me, but we're not even five minutes into negotiations when Luca calls. "Dani, I lost at Truth or Dare. I'm supposed to kiss some woman here, but I want to save my first kiss for you. Can you come over?" The second Daniela turns and walks away without a single backward glance, a knife plunges deep into my stomach, and blood splatters everywhere. Just like the last seven times, her right-hand man, Carlo Marino, tosses some cash around to clean up the mess. Then, he has me sent to the hospital. In the ambulance, I hear Daniela's men guessing whether I'll live long enough to see Luca stand on his own two feet. They roar with laughter. I'm the only one crying. The mission to save the underworld queen has failed, which means the System will wipe me out soon. I think to myself, "Daniela, I won't live to see that day."

Maude Ellington's fiance sends a message to his first love before their wedding. "You've always been the one I wanted to marry." With their wedding fast approaching, Maude watches him meticulously plan every detail with his first love in mind. She quietly lets it all go. Because she no longer wants the wedding. And she no longer wants him.

After I discovered Chelsea Stone’s infidelity, I ended the relationship without giving her a chance. I packed my luggage bit by bit. She watched me, then suddenly said, “Jensen Scott, do you know what was the most boring thing about you?” I paused and turned around. She blew out a puff of smoke and smiled in a flirtatious way. “You were so boring. You did not even know how to sweet‑talk in bed. It was so uninteresting.” I walked away with my things, and I held back my tears. Three years later, I ran into her in the hospital corridor. She wore a white coat, and the medical record book in her hand almost slipped when I bumped into her. Our eyes met. She looked me over, and her tone turned playful. “Oh, is this not my blockhead ex‑boyfriend?” I smiled and did not reply. As I left the hospital, she stepped in front of me and lowered her voice. “Three years have passed. Have you learned how to sweet‑talk in bed?” I raised my hand and showed her my wife’s ultrasound report. “I have, but not to you.”

Every time my husband cheated, he gave me a bracelet. I collected 99 bracelets in four years of marriage—I forgave him 99 times. He was away on a business trip for three days lately. When he came back, he brought home a rare bracelet worth Ten Million Dollars. That was when I knew it was time to ask for a divorce.

After ten years in a coma, Margaret Rollins, the mother of Geri Winslow, Jansburke's top heiress, finally wakes up. Everyone believes she'd been pushed down the stairs and left in a vegetative state. Now that she's awake, everyone prominent in the city comes to visit. They practically fall over themselves to praise Geri, saying she's been the picture of devotion. After all, she's spent the last ten years punishing the man who hurt Margaret. Even though Geri and the culprit were high school sweethearts, she still didn't go easy on him. But when everyone is finally done talking, Margaret sits in silence for a long time. Then, she looks at them in confusion. "What culprit? No one pushed me. I fell on my own." The fruit knife falls from Geri's hand and clatters to the floor. She lifts her head and stares at Margaret in disbelief. "Mom, what did you just say?" Alistair York isn't the one who caused Margaret's coma? A terrifying panic rises inside Geri. For as long as Margaret has been unconscious, Geri has been punishing Alistair. And now, she learns that he's innocent? "By the way, where is Alistair?" Margaret suddenly asks. "I didn't approve of him back then because he came from a single-parent family, and I didn't want you dating him. I never imagined he would risk everything to save me after I fell, though. Are you two still together? Did you get married? Do you have children?" Each question lands on Geri's heart like hammer blows. Her throat tightens, and she can't speak for a long time. Because after Alistair's release from prison, she forces him into a relationship with a blind woman begging on the streets. Three years have passed since then…

The day I get my sight back just happens to be my birthday. I plan to drop the good news on my wife, Mya Murray, during the birthday party she is throwing for me. Instead, I end up discovering a "surprise" she prepared for me first. Wrapped in a layer of gauze, my eyes are useless as Mya carefully takes my hand, leading me into the second-floor banquet hall. She whispers thoughtfully in my ear. "Honey, I know how much you love surprises, so I had a batch of roses flown in straight from overseas to build you a flower bridge and hired your favorite live band. "Every business titan and prominent media outlet in Hartwell is right here in this room to celebrate you. Do you like it?" She stands on tiptoe to press a kiss against my cheek. "Don't worry. I promised you that even if you never see again, you'll still get everything you deserve." She has no idea that my vision is back and that I can see every single thing in the room as clear as day.

"Martin, you're getting married within two weeks. What are you going to do about the woman outside?" Stacy Lynd paused at those words, even as a man answered indifferently, "Just keep your mouth shut. She won't know if none of you breathe a word." Behind the door, Stacy's tears blurred her vision. Never did she expect that the man she loved for years was going to treat her like a side chick. At that point, she truly understood, and went on to burn her accounts. It was not until afterward that Stacy realized she wasn't the one who couldn't get over that doomed relationship.

My husband, Lawrence Schwartz, and I were both liars. He lied to me, saying he would forget his first love, yet his phone is filled with photos of her. I lied to him, saying I would never leave, while secretly planning a future without him. A month ago, I tricked Lawrence into signing the divorce papers. Today was the final day to complete the entire divorce process.. Three hours left. I packed all my luggage and bought a plane ticket for the next day. Two hours left. I cut up every photo of us together, leaving only myself in the album. Last hour. I thought about leaving a message, then decided against it. Today marked the tenth year I had loved him and the first day I left him.

I feel unwell, so I head to the hospital alone to get myself checked. There, I find my wife, Luna Ackerman, accompanying the poor student I support financially, Levi Baker, for a health checkup. Just last night, the very same woman held me intimately in bed and said we would be together forever in every lifetime. I smile dejectedly and summon the system in my mind. "I choose to go back to my original world." What Luna doesn't know is that I'm a transmigrator. I have accomplished my mission the moment I married her. But now, I don't want her anymore.

One day, after getting rear-ended outside my office, I, Maeve Dahlman, call out for help, but Austin Cooper, who is simply passing by with Carmen Holt, merely glances at me impatiently, annoyed that I've disrupted their lunch plans. Instead of helping, he has his assistant take me to his private club and lock me in a room, accusing me of being paranoid and dramatic. "I'll give you three days to calm down," he says before walking away and leaving me in isolation. Eventually, I escape and call the police. An ambulance rushes me to the hospital, where doctors diagnose me with a brain injury that requires immediate surgery. I keep calling Austin, only to realize that he has blocked my number. Then, I see Carmen's latest post online, gushing about a romantic luxurious dinner with him. After I'm discharged, I cancel the wedding, destroy all the invitations, and finally call my mother. "Mom," I say, "I've made up my mind. I'm ready to meet him."