Tragic Love Romance Short Stories & Face Slapping Novels

At dinner, my husband, Cole Jarrett, piles ginger on my plate and urges me to eat. Tears fill my eyes as I look at the table. Every dish is made with ginger. "I'm not the one who likes ginger," I say. "You've got it wrong. Ginger makes me sick." After I'm presumed dead in a plane crash, Cole finds a lookalike, Jacqueline White, to care for our son, Elias Jarrett. But when I return, I realize they've already come to see Jacqueline as me. No matter how much I care about my family, whenever Jacqueline sets me up, they always believe her. One night, Elias comes to my room. I haven't seen him in three years, and I'm overjoyed to see him. I reach for him, but his first words send a chill through me. "Can you just get out of our house?" I collapse to the floor, unable to hold myself together any longer. "Fine," I say, closing my eyes. "If that's what you want."

My wife, Cheryl Sharpley, has a low sex drive. Every time we're intimate, she keeps a strict track of the time. Tonight is no different. We're only halfway through when the special notification on her phone goes off. It's a custom alert, reserved for one person. Her secretary, Henry Sadler, sounds extremely upset. "Ms. Sharpley, I dreamed about you. My chest hurts so much…" Without a second thought, Cheryl gets dressed and climbs out of bed. Pressing my lips together, I lower my eyes and reach out to catch her hand. "It's late. We haven't even—" "Henry is all alone in this city with no one to rely on. I'm his boss. I can't just ignore him." She doesn't even look at me as she says that. Calmly, she slips her hand free and stands before the mirror, applying fresh lipstick to her lips. "Today's task is complete," she adds. "I'll make up the time to you next time." My breathing falters. That's all I am to Cheryl—a task. Not long after she leaves, a message from Henry pops up on my phone. The attached photo shows him leaning against her shoulder. "Joseph, I'm really sorry. I was just so scared of losing her. I'll make sure she makes it up to you next time. You'll have to make do with your hand tonight." I read every word in silence. Quietly, I get out of bed, take a long shower, and strip the sheets from the bed, tossing them straight into the trash. I then change into a fresh set of pajamas. At that moment, I decide that I no longer want her in my life.

After my dad's 70th birthday banquet is over, I receive a phone call from my husband, Daniel Hayes, out of the blue. "This is bad, honey! The investor of my company suddenly fled after embezzling all of the company's funds! I need to fly overseas and tide this crisis out for the time being. You mustn't contact me at all for now!" All traces of sleep vanishes instantly. I make sure to tell Daniel to stay safe. After ending the call, I call the bank right away and have them freeze Daniel's cards on the spot. My dad is the investor of Daniel's company, after all. Right now, he's sleeping in the room next door because of how drunk he has gotten at the banquet. I'm interested in finding out just how Daniel manages to file for bankruptcy in the first place.

A week before Christmas, I received a year-end report titled "My Business with Your Wife." [Item one: this year's goal was to sleep with your wife a hundred and fifty times. — Exceeded.] [Item two: get your wife to buy me a mansion and a luxury car. — Done.] [Item three: get your son to call me "Dad" ten times a day. — Exceeded.] [Item four: stand right in front of you and claim what's mine. — Done.] [Mr. Wolfe, I've been taking care of your wife and looking after your son too. So, are you going to give me a bonus, or step aside like a smart man?] He'd attached a photo, labeled it "family portrait." In it, Allyson Fowler had her arm looped through his, and my seven-year-old son stood in front of them. This guy was my son's kickboxing coach. Allyson walked in just as I finished reading that special year-end report. Nervous, she said to me, "Don't go looking for trouble with him. I was the one who made the first move. It's not his fault. Take it out on me any way you want, and I'll make it up to you however you ask." My blood ran cold. I just looked into her eyes and said, "I just want you to go back to how things used to be." Back to when she was broke, stuck in the mud with nothing. She misunderstood and let out a relieved breath. "Even with him around, I won't neglect you."

My fiancé Damian Crowley and I'd been together for six years. But the night before my wedding, he demanded that I let my twin sister, Chloe Lambert, take my place as the bride. "Chloe doesn't have much time left. This is her only dream. Think of it as granting your sister's last wish." My own parents jabbed their fingers in my face and yelled at me too. They said I owed Chloe my life. It was only a wedding, they said, and I should stop being so selfish. Three years ago, I'd slipped and fallen into the water, and Chloe had supposedly risked her life to save me. She'd been in fragile health ever since. From then on, my family blamed me for everything. I walked on eggshells around them and gave Chloe whatever she wanted to repay that debt. I told myself I owed her, so I gave in to every demand, no matter how unreasonable. Now they wanted me to give up my wedding too. I looked at Chloe hiding behind my fiancé, barely able to keep the triumph off her face. My fingers closed around the contents of my bag: a falsified medical record with an official hospital stamp and proof of what had really happened three years ago. I smiled coldly and nodded. This time, I wouldn't just give them what they wanted. I'd give them a wedding the whole city would talk about.

After going through an abrupt breakup, I buy an AI companion. It can read my emotions and remembers everything I say. It can even mimic my ex-girlfriend Angelina Wilson's intonation. It's like a real person. The AI companion's system updates itself again in the middle of the night. I'm groggy when I wake up, but I notice that the notification light is flashing rapidly. I hear a faint buzzing noise when I move closer. The AI companion is speaking. "Help me. I'm trapped in here." I'm stunned. The voice clearly belongs to Angelina.

In the fifth year of her marriage, Natalie Shaw is taken to the police for the 199th time after being mistaken for a mistress. Someone comes to bail her out. Her face is covered in scratches and blood. A chunk of her hair has been ripped out, exposing raw, bleeding skin. It's a horrifying sight. She cries from the pain. But soon, she goes numb. She sits in the chair in silence, trying to untangle her hair, which has been clumped together by thick, sticky blood. Only when a police officer hands her a document and tells her she is free to leave does she slowly lift her head. And sure enough, the person who has come to bail her out is not her husband, Adrian Carter.

My mother-in-law, Maryam Smith, had a heart attack and was in a critical condition. However, my wife, Lily Smith, took the only available heart for her intern’s mother. Jared Anderson’s mother did not have a serious heart condition. She did not need a heart transplant at all. In the end, Maryam died on the operating table because she did not receive a heart transplant in time. “I already tried my best to find another donated heart for your mother. It’s too bad that she was unlucky. She couldn’t even manage to make it through that short while. “Even though she’s dead, Jared was still kind enough to offer to retrieve all her organs to be donated. That way, she can still contribute something good to the world.” I was shocked by her shameless speech. However, she was not aware that my mother was not the person she harmed with her abuse of power. The person she hurt was her mother!

We finally made it to the County Clerk's Office with only fifteen minutes to spare before they stopped processing marriage licenses. Our friends were already gathered at the bottom of the steps, urging us to go inside. "Come on, get in there! After everything you two have been through, you finally made it in time for the eighth try!" My best friend, Ryan Chapman, had red-rimmed eyes as he reached over and straightened my tie for me. I was just about to walk inside when Chester Snyder, Melissa's childhood friend, suddenly spoke from the back seat. "Wait. My lucky bracelet broke. I need to fix it first." I stopped. Melissa stopped, too. "Okay. No rush." Chester lowered his head and began adjusting the bracelet, then looked up at me with a smile. "Don't worry, Zane. I will have it fixed in a minute. "I made these lucky bracelets especially for the two of you. They are supposed to bring good luck and help keep your marriage smooth." When he finished, he casually handed his phone to Melissa. "Can you hold this for me?" Melissa took it without a word. The chatter around us suddenly died. The friends who had been cheering us on moments ago exchanged uneasy looks. I looked at Melissa. "Melissa, the County Clerk's Office stops processing marriage licenses at five. "If we go in now, we will make it just in time." Melissa frowned and glanced at the time. "I'm already here. A few more minutes won't make a difference." I watched her stand beside the car, patiently waiting while Chester fixed his bracelet. Then, suddenly, I smiled. I lowered my head, took out my phone, and sent a message to a number I knew by heart. [You said that if the eighth attempt failed, you'd consider giving me a chance.] [Get to the County Clerk's Office before five.]

I was five months pregnant when my husband, James Fletcher, allowed his mistress to invade our lives—on the very night of our wedding anniversary. But she didn’t just come to flaunt her presence. She came to take my life. Pregnant and vulnerable, I confronted her, desperately clinging to my dignity. But the fight ended with me tumbling down the staircase, my swollen belly crashing against the cold, hard ground. Blood seeped across the floor, vivid and unrelenting. James only arrived after hearing about his precious mistress’ ordeal. He stood there, staring at the pool of blood, at my broken body. But instead of helping me, he rushed to her side. She had nothing but a few superficial scratches, yet he swept her off to the hospital like she was the one dying. By the time he returned, my child was gone. The doctors barely managed to save me. And what did James do? He struck me in front of everyone, his words sharper than the sting of his hand. "Lisa only wanted to bring you a Christmas gift, and you attacked her out of nowhere! You shameless witch!" “She didn’t force her way in! What nonsense! I gave her the house key ages ago. You just can’t stand that she’s prettier and kinder than you!" “You didn’t just hurt her. You killed my child! You vile, despicable woman. Why couldn’t it have been you instead?” Lisa stood beside him, pretending to comfort him while flashing me a smug, victorious smirk. James’s vicious tirade didn’t stop there. He dragged my name onto the internet, painting me as a monster.

The night before our wedding celebration, I'm happily hand-making a diamond tiara for Megan Mills, my fiancée, when I receive a video from her. In the video, Megan takes off her clothes as she walks toward Gordon Brewer, the director who once funded the orphanage she grew up in. On my screen, she suddenly looks back at me with a dazzling smile. "Sam, I may be yours, but I'm giving my first time to the man who can give it meaning." Seconds later, right before my eyes, the video shows her getting hot and heavy with Gordon. Her voice message comes right after, her tone languid and utterly unapologetic after what she just did. "Samuel Weston, you watched over me as I grew up, whereas he's helped me become famous. "You get our marriage and a lifetime with me, while he gets my first time as repayment for what he's done for me. That's fair, right? You do love me the most, after all. And nobody understands the importance of repaying a debt of gratitude better than you do." My phone slips from my hand and hits the floor, the screen shattering just like my heart. So, in her eyes, ten years of my unwavering love and devotion are nothing more than commodities she can split up and distribute as she pleases. I pick up my other phone and dial the number I haven't called in three years. In an icy voice, I say, "Activate 'Operation Wing-Clip' now! The targets are Megan and Gordon."

Felix Sterling had a thing for women who reminded him of his first love. I happened to look about eighty percent like the woman he had lost. Because of that, he spoiled me rotten and turned me into a spoiled, arrogant woman who got whatever she wanted. Whenever some foolish woman dared to provoke me, I would track down her home, even at three in the morning, and slap her dozens of times. Felix never said a harsh word to me. He simply cleaned up the messes I left behind. That was until a woman who looked even more like his first love appeared. Her name was Vivian Hart. The moment she saw me, she dropped to her knees. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded, “I heard you’re really good at hitting people. I’m afraid of pain. Please don’t hit me, okay?” Felix chuckled behind her and pulled her to her feet. Then he stood in front of me and told her, word for word, “Starting today, I’ll teach you how to get whatever you want. “You can keep tabs on people. You can hit other women.” He glanced casually at me and pointed in my direction. “Everything she used to do, you can do too. “You can completely overshadow her.” He stared into my eyes, as if trying to find some other emotion there. Instead, I suddenly laughed. What Felix Sterling didn’t know was that I had a thing for replacements too. He was the first replacement I had ever chosen. And just now, I had decided it was time to find the next one.

Bradley Fry, my CEO husband, loves bringing his friends home for meals the most. He claims that this makes them feel like an actual family. As they drink in the feast I've whipped up for everyone, one of Bradley's friends comments smilingly, "I knew that you were a virtuous one, Emily! Now this is how the legitimate wife should act!" My expression doesn't falter as I ask in a half-joking manner, "Oh? Does Bradley have a spoiled and pampered mistress by his side, then?" His friends are stunned by my question. A trace of panic crosses their eyes simultaneously. But Bradley just wraps an arm around my shoulders with a smile. "Don't listen to their nonsense, Emily. Who else is worthy as my wife but you in this world?" As I look at Bradley's nonchalant expression, I just shoot him a smile. But when I leave the room, I dial a number. "Philip, Bradley has cheated on me with another woman. I want him to be locked behind bars for the rest of his life."

On the morning of our pre-wedding health exam, a health alert popped up on my smartwatch. It was synced to my fiancé, John William. [2:17 AM. Elevated Heart Rate. Location: Clara Gabriel's Apartment.] Beneath it was an activity log. [Vigorous Exercise. 42 minutes.] My fingers went numb. John had insisted on sharing our health data so I would know if he was working too late or suffering a migraine. I never realized that data would track his pulse spiking in another woman’s bed. Looking back, the signs were everywhere. The night Clara had a fever, his heart rate surged until 3:00 AM. The night Clara had insomnia, his heart rate stayed steady in her apartment until dawn. On Clara’s birthday, his watch logged an all-nighter with three distinct heart rate peaks. Whenever I asked, John would just laugh it off. "You're getting jealous over algorithm updates now? You need a hobby." Clara would give a guiltless smile. "He’s just worried about me living alone." I didn't realize worry was meant to be so hands-on. At the clinic, Dr. Gates handed me the registry forms. "Fill in the groom's information so we can set up the joint file." I looked at the blank space next to Spouse and smiled. "Never mind." His heart wasn't mine to monitor anymore.

After graduation, I post something online without really thinking about it. "Does not relying on you anymore count as growing up?" My childhood friend's comment pops up almost instantly. "That's cause for celebration." I don't understand, so I send him a question mark. After a while, his reply comes through. "Mara, do you know everyone says you're like a leech I can't shake off? "School's over. You don't need to be stuck to me every day. "Learn to stand on your own. No one in college is going to put up with a big baby." Then, without missing a beat, he sends me a download link. "Got a question? Ask AI. It's more useful than relying on me." Just like that, the boy who has looked after me for 12 years hands me off to an AI app. I sit there stunned for a long time, then quietly download it.

As Vivian Hart's husband and deputy director, I worked every day of the year without a break. But when I took half a day off because my mother was hospitalized, Vivian accused me of putting my family ahead of the company. "You took time off for something that minor? As a deputy director, the business should come first." Her voice on the phone was colder than the hospital itself. At year-end, I was the only senior manager in the entire company who received no bonus. Vivian shut her office door and spoke as though she were comforting me. "You're my husband. You should be willing to put up with a little unfairness and set an example for everyone else. I'll make it up to you privately when things settle down." But the money never came. Instead, I discovered she'd secretly paid a $5,000 bonus to an intern who took time off every other week. Her excuse? "His family doesn't have much. He needs encouragement." She'd forgotten that I'd missed six holiday seasons with my mother to help Vivian build that company. And now my mother's hospital bills were still $5,000 short. So I decided to pull my investment out.

On the morning of the wedding, the bridesmaids decided to play a quick trivia game with Grayson Cross before our first look. He had to get three questions right before he could see me. I thought he would get them all easily. To my surprise, he got the very first one wrong. “What shoe size does the bride wear?” Without hesitation, he answered, “Size 6.” “What’s the bride’s favorite color?” “Blue.” Everyone exchanged glances, and the atmosphere grew awkward. So they asked him an absurdly easy question. “What year did the bride graduate from college?” Everyone thought there was no way he could get that one wrong. After all, we had been classmates in college. “2013. The year she graduated, I gave her a pair of crystal shoes I made myself. There's no way I could be wrong.” That was the moment I panicked. My eyes slowly drifted toward my best friend, Iris Shea, who stood there in a blue bridesmaid dress and crystal heels. She bit her lip and quietly reminded Grayson, “It was 2012. I’m the one who graduated late.” And suddenly, I understood. The last bit of hesitation in my heart disappeared. I gave a faint smile, lowered my head, and sent a message to my parents. “Mom, Dad, please bring the car around. I’m changing into sneakers. I’m not marrying him.”

I open my eyes, only to find Monica Shepherd lying beneath me. I'm just about to get up when a sudden ringing sound prompts Monica to shove me away. Monica's previously flushed face turns completely cold the moment she hangs up. She lights up a cigarette and says indifferently, "You shouldn't come around anymore since the new man I'm seeing gets incredibly jealous. He's quite a handful to deal with." I look into her eyes and readily agree. In my past life, I refuse to let go after she falls for someone else, shamelessly clinging to her like a desperate simp. She absolutely loathes me for that, though, to the point that when she sees a group of thugs break my leg and drag me into an alley, she doesn't hesitate for a second to grab her new man, Michael Harrison, turn her back, and walk away. In this lifetime, I'm the one who doesn't want Monica anymore.

During an hurricane, I rescued Adrian Whitaker, the golden heir to one of the capital's most powerful families, from the ocean after he'd fallen into the water and lost his memory. While we were living in a cramped place in Seabrook, a small coastal town, I worked three jobs to pay for his treatment. I shielded him from a bottle when some thugs attacked him, and when he got sick during a torrential downpour, I carried him into town to see a doctor. Everyone said I was deeply in love with Adrian, that I cared about him so much I was willing to risk my life for him. Even Adrian himself thought so. So when his memory returned, and he was about to go back and take over his family's company, he asked me what I wanted. When I told him I only wanted him to grant me one wish, his face turned cold. "I can make sure you live in comfort for the rest of your life, but don't even think about becoming Mrs. Whitaker. Charis is the only woman in my heart." I didn't argue. I simply waited. On the day he officially took over the company, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr. Whitaker, please give me a letter of non-prosecution." Surprise flashed across his face. Then, for some reason, his expression darkened. "Do you really have to play hard to get at a time like this just to upset Charis?" I froze. Wait. How did asking for a letter of non-prosecution turn into playing hard to get? I was still waiting to get my poor, unlucky husband out of detention so I could bring him home for the holidays.

Before my mother passed away, the person she most wanted to see was her beloved son-in-law, Anthony Brosnan. She supported Anthony financially for five years, and the latter started his own business after graduating. At that time, I accidentally walked into his office and instantly fell in love with him at first sight. However, Anthony changed after three years of marriage and fell in love with his secretary. I called him over a dozen times, and it was the secretary who picked up the phone. "Anthony is cooking right now. Do you need something?" Just as I was about to speak, my mother overheard the voice. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she passed away filled with resentment. Anthony, since I had lost my mother, you meant nothing to me anymore.