Scumbag Regret Short Stories & Novels

In my fifth year of marriage to the Don of a powerful mafia family, I find out that the protection charm he gave me causes me headaches whenever I bring it with me. As a surgeon, this raised my alarm. I retrieved the small sachets I had found inside the amulet and brought them to the toxicology lab at Kosley Hospital.. The doctor inspects the sachet and tells me that it contains a type of slow-acting poison that doesn't just cause harm to the victim's body but also renders them infertile after a while. I cry and exclaim, "But that's impossible! My husband gave this to me! His name is Vincenzo Cursley. He's also the person who owns this hospital!" The doctor looks at me in confusion. "Miss, please stop the nonsense. I know Mr. Cursley and his wife. They're very close and intimate with each other. Also, Mrs. Cursley just gave birth to a baby boy not too long ago. They're both now in the VIP ward, looking at their baby." Then, the doctor shows me a photo on his phone. Vincenzo was wearing his usual black suit with the Cursley family emblem embroidered on it. He was holding a baby in his arms, and as for the woman standing next to him… I know her. Her name is Claudia Henderson. And Vincenzo has always referred to her as his adoptive sister.

On Christmas night, my husband, Finnick Carson, can't spend the holidays with me because he's on a business trip. In order to make it up to me, he's specifically ordered a Christmas feast from a fancy restaurant and has it delivered to our home. But when I open the box containing the feast, I'm shell-shocked by what I see. Not only an array of seafood—that I'm allergic to—is arranged in containers, but there's also a kid's meal set included in the feast. When the deliveryman sees the food, he apologizes to me and tells me that he's mixed up the two meals that Finnick has ordered. This leaves me feeling uneasy. Why would my husband order two meals? So, I decide to find my way to the delivery address that the other meal is meant for. Shockingly enough, I see Finnick standing in a villa's backyard while picking candies from a Christmas tree with a mother and a son. The little boy then rushes into his arms happily. "Daddy, I'd like an amusement park for my birthday gift this year!" Finnick pinches his cheek gently. "Okay. I'll give your mommy a set of jewelry, too." The woman cuddles with him happily. "You're so nice to us, honey!" Having recorded the entire scene quietly, I send it to my lawyer. "Help me expedite my divorce so that my husband can reunite with his family as soon as possible."

I had been in love with Leo, the Don of a Mafia family. For seven years, I was there with him through the darkest nights, cleaned up after him more times than I could count, and convinced myself that he would give me the ending I deserved. When word got back to me that Leo was planning a proposal, I could barely contain the tremble in my fingers. However, the woman he was proposing to wasn’t me. My eyes burned, and my voice was barely a whisper. “Why?” Leo pulled me into his arms in assurance, his chest warm against my skin, but the words coming out of his mouth were anything but. “Nina has cancer. Her only wish is to know what it’s like to be proposed to. I couldn’t say no to her. “This is the one thing I can do for her.” As Leo slipped the ring onto Nina’s finger, his expression earnest, the past seven years I’d spent loving him felt like a joke. Nina got her happy ending. All I got was a rude awakening. Now that the dream was over, it was time for me to walk away.

It has been fifty-five days since my fiancé cut me off. I called off the wedding I'd waited eight long years for. All while he was caring for his childhood sweetheart, who was battling depression and seeking peace at a remote retreat. He even had the historic chapel—a local landmark called the Aethelred Sanctuary—closed to the public for six months because of her. And me? I was left to face the swarming reporters, hounded from one place to the next until I had nowhere left to hide—all because he disappeared without a word. Out of options, I went to the retreat to find him. But he turned me away, saying I would disturb the quiet and sanctity of the place. In the bitter cold of deep winter, I collapsed outside the gates, barely holding on. When I woke, I saw him—Jonathan—planting an entire garden of roses on the grounds, every bloom a declaration of love. Six months later, he finally left and returned home with his childhood sweetheart. The roses they had planted now filled what was supposed to be our wedding venue, from floor to ceiling. I watched them, cold and unmoved. What he didn't know was this—I was already engaged to someone else.

"Luna, the surgery to remove the Alpha’s mark is excruciating. After that, you’ll be treated as a packless Rogue. Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" "Yes. I want to be a Rogue." The black market healer was utterly astonished. The entire werewolf world believed Alpha Ethan was head over heels in love with me. Just days ago, he'd spent a hundred million gold coins to buy me 'Moonlight Manor,' filling it with my favorite moonflowers. Countless she-wolves dreamed of being marked by such a passionate and powerful Alpha. But I didn't hesitate. After removing the mark, I printed out a Mate Bond Severance Agreement and booked a flight to the European pack a week later. Goodbye, Ethan.

My fiancé, Elio Santoro, is the Don of the Santoro family, one of the five major mafia families in Castellano. During a gang attack, he is shot and loses his memory, causing him to completely forget me. I try again and again to help him recover his memory, but every attempt fails. One day, I go to find him with the contract after finalizing a major drug transport deal with a foreign group on his behalf. By chance, I overhear his conversation with his first love, Sofia Rossi. "Elio, according to our bet, you've already reached level 98 in this game. Two more levels, and I will become the true Donna of the Santoro family." I feel like I've been tossed into an icy lake. So his amnesia is fake, and our seven years together are all a lie. Since the beginning, this is just a cruel game he is playing to amuse his first love, and I am nothing but a toy. Later, I get into a car accident on my way to meet Sofia. Elio rushes into the fire like a madman. The moment he sees my burned corpse, he loses his mind.

In my previous life, Leon, the Alpha who was supposed to complete the marking ceremony with me, suddenly changed his chosen mate to my younger sister, Rose, on the very day of the ritual. Watching the two of them act intimately together, a wave of humiliation swept over me. Just as I was about to step forward and demand an explanation, the pack was suddenly attacked. All three of us died in the riot. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day of the marking ceremony. This time, I chose to fulfill their wish. After leading the members to suppress the riot that would have happened in my previous life, I left the pack and entered human society. I thought I would never cross paths with them again in this lifetime. However, three years later, on the day of a birthday banquet, I unexpectedly met Rose and Leon again. Rose was leaning shyly into Leon’s arms, greeting me with a look of feigned surprise. “Claire! Why are you at such a grand banquet? “Didn’t you go to live in human society?” When I stayed silent, Rose mocked me with a laugh. “Could it be that you couldn’t survive in human society and now want to return to the pack?” Leon looked at me from the side, his expression filled with unconcealed disgust. “I would never agree to let you return to the pack even if you kneeled and begged me. “However, as my slave, you’d still be qualified. We could go back to how things were before.” I smiled faintly. I was here because my mate was the new Ultima of the wolf packs’ Alliance. And this exquisite birthday banquet was specially prepared for me.

My father disappeared for seventeen years. The first time he surfaced, it was to offer me fifty thousand dollars for my bone marrow to save the daughter he'd had with his lover. My mother slapped me twice right there, demanding I refuse his dirty money. But I got into the car the Alpha had sent, handprints still burning on my face, and walked into his multimillion-dollar estate. They all thought I was so desperate I'd sell my own blood for cash. That changed when I pointed at the most expensive car in his garage and told my father, "Either restore my name to the Blackwood family registry or give me the car's value in cash: three hundred thousand dollars." "Your daughter needs my bone marrow to survive. My mother needs three hundred thousand dollars to stay alive." "If you can't part with the money, then watch her die." After that, everyone thought all I cared about was money. Only I knew the truth: I was selling my own blood to buy my mother a chance at life.

Three hours before my engagement party, Reid Callahan took off my ring and slipped it onto his ex-girlfriend Mallory Dawson's finger. "Mal's fingers are slimmer than yours. I just had her try it on to make sure the ring wouldn't be too loose on you." My mom had just finished a round of chemo. She sat with the guests, wearing a hat, smiling as she told our relatives, "Cora finally found someone who'll cherish her." But backstage, Mallory raised her hand to the light and admired the ring on her finger. "Reid, don't you think it looks better on me?" Reid frowned, but he didn't tell her to take it off. Instead, he spoke to her gently. "Come on, Mal. Not today. I'm getting engaged today."

Cedric Thorne, Alpha of the Crescent Moon pack, had a nightmare. In the dream, at the full moon ceremony, he slept with an Omega he'd rescued. In the dream, I was going to break our mate bond and lead the werewolves from my pack back to my own territory. When Cedric woke up, he held me tight and swore he would never betray me. After that, he couldn't get enough of me. He wanted me several times a night. And every time he climaxed, he'd grip my waist and make me repeat the same words. "Cedric, I love you." Whenever I left the castle to patrol, he kept checking where I was through the mate bond. He couldn't stand to have me out of his sight. It made him feel insecure. I thought he was just afraid of losing me, and that was why he was so possessive. Then, at this year's full moon ceremony, the Omega he'd rescued went into heat. In front of the whole pack, Cedric picked her up and headed for our bedroom. I grabbed his arm and begged him not to go, but he shook me off. "Her heat could kill her. I can't let another male touch her!" So I had to lead the ceremony alone. Because of the mate bond, I could feel everything Cedric felt. I felt the low growl he let out when he climaxed, and the thrill that ran through every part of him. The whole pack heard them too. One by one, they lowered their heads. When the ceremony was over, I headed for the bedroom. Elena Marsh sat astride Cedric's lap, wearing the robe that marked me as Luna. And my mate was kissing her like he couldn't get enough.

My online boyfriend, Adrian Ferro, lost a bet at a private casino. And what he'd put up to cover it was me. He added me to a group chat with 100 heirs from New York's biggest mafia families. The group announcement was impossible to miss. "Luca De Santis has won a mystery girlfriend. Weight: 200 pounds." Right after that, someone posted a photo of me from high school, squeezed into a formal gown. In the photo, I was practically bursting out of it. The group chat blew up. "Adrian, did you just give Luca a sow?" "At the charity gala tomorrow night, Luca has to do the couples' challenges with her." Another betting pool opened almost immediately: would I dare show up at the gala? Adrian bet a hundred thousand dollars that I wouldn't show up. He even tagged Luca and wrote, "She's all yours now. How do you like her?" Luca, who'd won the bet, never said a word. Then Vivian Bellini, the reigning beauty of the Bellini family, tagged me. "Tomorrow night is such a big deal. You'll be there, won't you?" I stared at the screen and scoffed. In their eyes, I was still that 200-pound fat girl. But they had no idea I was down to 100 pounds now. Lately, I'd lost count of how many strangers had hit on me on the streets of New York. I didn't bother explaining. I just bet a hundred thousand dollars that I'd show up. Then I typed, "A bet's a bet."

My chosen mate, Alpha Wyatt, promised that we would finally have our bonding ceremony on the night of the full moon. But every year, he would delay it over some ridiculous bet. Every single time, he was so certain that I loved him enough to forgive him endlessly. This year, he lost my Luna necklace to a female wolf named Harper for an entire year. He wore the exact same playfully apologetic look on his face as the last few times. "I'm so sorry, babe. It was just a bet, but I'm an Alpha. I can't go back on my word." "Don't worry. Next year on the full moon, I promise I'll give you an unforgettable bonding ceremony." But this time, I calmly took off the mate-to-be ring he gave me and dropped it on the floor. "Don't bother. We're done." He didn't know that I wasn't just some ordinary, orphaned Omega. I am Valerie Sterling, the only daughter of the Alpha King. To escape my father's arrangements and the fated mate the Moon Goddess chose for me, I hid my name and my bloodline, stubbornly searching for a chosen mate of my own. For three years, I thought Wyatt was the one. Today, I realized how wrong I was. I gazed down at the text message from Leon, my father's Beta: "Lady Valerie, the Alpha King has reserved the last three days for the Heir Declaration. The private jet is on standby. He is waiting for you to come home." I didn't hesitate anymore. "I'll be there in three days."

After Dad’s affair, Mom began sprinkling flour into his underwear every day. “That way, it’s clean, and I can see the truth,” she murmured. Her face was deathly pale. Dad always stood by the bed with his head lowered, letting her do as she pleased. When he left the bedroom, he would catch my worried gaze and give me a gentle smile. “Ellie, your mom’s sick. She’s just playing a game with me.” However, that day, Dad was leaving for an out-of-town business trip. While packing, he quietly pulled out the flour-dusted pair and replaced it with a clean one. The moment Mom saw it, she snapped. She rushed over and grabbed his suitcase. “Why did you switch it?” she shrieked. “Are you going to see that divorced receptionist from your company again? Even after I marked it with flour, you still want to fool around with her. Aren’t you afraid something will go wrong down there?” Dad stumbled as she tugged at him. At last, he shoved her away. “I’m going to the hot springs resort to meet a client. How am I supposed to show up like this? Can’t you stop being so paranoid all the time?” Mom staggered back into the wardrobe, and her tears instantly spilled out. “If you weren’t so desperate that you’d go after anyone, even a woman with a child, I wouldn’t be so paranoid.” Dad’s face flushed with anger. “At least Jocelyn’s child was her ex-husband’s, unlike you, who expected me to raise the spawn of the man who assaulted you. If I’d been pickier, I never would’ve married you!” A sudden clap of thunder cracked outside. Mom went still, and she slowly lowered her outstretched hand. I curled up in the corner of the couch as tears slid down my face. I knew then that Mom had truly reached her breaking point.

My husband can't find his way anywhere. He can't read a map, and turn-by-turn directions only confuse him more. He got lost on our wedding day and turned up so late the ceremony had to be pushed back three days. He got lost on our anniversary while a table of food I'd cooked went cold. Eight months pregnant, I fell in the bathroom and called him for help. He sounded frantic on the phone, and then he got lost on the road home, the one he'd driven for five years. By the time he reached the hospital, our son had already been taken to the funeral home and cremated. I couldn't climb out of it, and everyone around me took his side. "That thick head of his can't hold a road. He wasn't late on purpose. Don't start a fight over it. You'll have another baby." I nodded, numb. Then, on the way to my son's funeral, I found out my husband had sent the driver away and taken a long detour to his assistant's house without a single wrong turn. "Grace, the service won't start for a while. I'll run Paige to the airport first. She's got to get back home." Before I could say no, we were already at her door. His assistant slid into the front passenger seat like it belonged to her, and every word out of her mouth landed somewhere tender. "See how well I've trained you? You forget the way to my place and I'll pull your pants down and deal with you." It was only when she noticed me in the back seat that she stuck out her tongue, embarrassed. "Sorry, Ms. Ellison. I was joking." I swallowed it and said nothing. And after Owen dropped her off, he lost the route to the cemetery again, and my son's service started half an hour late. Holding that small urn against me, I stopped hoping. So there was someone he could make an exception for. It just wasn't me, and it wasn't our son.

Seven years into dating, Kirk came to pick me up from work in the pouring rain. I opened the door to the front passenger seat, finding the fabric soaked and a single strand of hair stuck to it. Kirk kept both hands on the wheel, not even glancing at me. “I dropped an intern from the project department off at home. She was drenched since she didn’t have an umbrella with her.” I sat on the damp seat, my heart sinking. “Kirk, you, of all people, should know I have anxiety about certain things.” “It’s just a seat. She’s younger and more interesting than you. Heck, she looks prettier even when she’s drenched. “I’ve been with her, and honestly, she’s a lot more fun. “I’ll still propose to you, but you need to stay oblivious for us to carry on.” The rain battered the windows, yet it was the tension inside the car that left me struggling to breathe.

Lena Fields was my best friend. When I found out her boyfriend had cheated on her, my mate and I rushed straight over to back her up. Lena and I clawed at that homewrecker’s face while my mate, Garrett Blackwood, held the cheating jerk down. On the way back to the pack, the three of us looked one another over. We were covered in claw marks, and we burst out laughing. Lena laughed until she started crying. “You two had better never break your mate bond. Otherwise, who am I supposed to tag along with?” Garrett rolled his eyes at her. “We’re fated mates chosen by the Moon Goddess. Only death can separate us.” After that, I helped Lena settle in the Windwolf pack. I stayed by her side through the pain of breaking her mate bond and encouraged her to start a new life. I was so busy helping her that I even neglected my mate. Every time Garrett got jealous, he’d pull me into his arms and complain, “Elise, do you even remember that I’m your mate?” Then Alpha Rowan Blackwood sent Garrett to the border for three months. When he came back, we couldn’t wait to throw our arms around each other. The moment I sank into his arms, I felt a sharp sting where he’d marked me. I also caught another werewolf’s scent on him. I shoved Garrett away, furious. “You cheated on me! I’m breaking our mate bond!” Then I grabbed Lena, who was standing behind Garrett. “Come on, Lena! You stayed in the Windwolf pack for me, so now you’re leaving with me!” But the second I said it, she shook me off. I turned around, stunned, and saw Lena step back to Garrett’s side, her eyes full of guilt.

The night before the Global Finals, my boyfriend, our team captain, handed my starting spot to an academy trainee just to indulge her. Every question I got wrong, I had to hand over a piece of gear that had carried me through championships. But every answer had been rigged from the start. In the end, he pulled my account key and gave my Finals seat to the trainee. "Just let her play one match. You're twenty-six, stop being so petty." I snapped my account card in half on the spot and signed the termination papers they'd drawn up. The whole team expected me to crawl back to base. But when the Finals lineups took the stage, I was wearing our rivals' starting jersey, standing on the other side. They still had no idea who had really been carrying whom to those three straight championships.

Late one night, I was scrolling through social media when I came across a post asking people to share their wedding photos. I was about to leave mine in the comments when the pinned reply caught my eye. It was a set of wedding photos of my husband, Sebastian Moore, and my cousin, Xena Zane. My ears rang, and my mind went completely blank. I tapped into the account that had posted them. There were hundreds of posts, and nearly all of them were wedding photos. I scrolled down and opened the very first one. Wendy Tanner, my best friend, had left the top comment. [Finally! I've been waiting forever for you two to go public. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!] My mom, Diane Stone, had commented right beneath her. [You two look wonderful together. Take good care of each other.] Mutual friends, relatives, and people from every corner of our lives had all chimed in with congratulations. Something inside me finally snapped. Everyone had known from the beginning. Everyone except me.

I had been with Graham Sterling for four years, yet plenty of people had ridden in the passenger seat of his car. His mother. His female cousin. His female coworker. His “good friend,” Vanessa Pierce. Everyone except me. Whenever I brought it up, he always gave me the same answer. “What’s the difference? You can sit in the back. It doesn’t matter.” I counted. He had told me “it doesn’t matter” seventy-six times. My birthday didn’t matter. My graduation didn’t matter. The fact that I wanted to sit beside him didn’t matter. Until yesterday, when Vanessa came home in someone else’s passenger seat. For the first time, Graham lost his temper with me. “Couldn’t you have come downstairs sooner? If I hadn’t been waiting for you, I wouldn’t have missed something this important. I was supposed to pick up Vanessa!” I stared at his reddened, anxious eyes. So he did understand what the passenger seat meant. It only became “unimportant” when it came to me. I placed his car keys on the coffee table. “Then I won’t sit there anymore. “Front seat or back seat. I’m done with both.”

Married three years. Stood up three years. Today was the last time I bothered showing up. Surprise—he bailed again. Still clinging to hope like a total idiot, I called. One last shot. "A-Aurora, I'm busy. Just wait," he muttered. And then her voice cut in. All breathy and smug: "That old woman can't satisfy you, huh? Paolo, be gentle." Click. Right on cue, Marco Medici—loyal, patient, saint-like Marco—sent his 99th proposal. This time, I didn't leave him hanging. [Want to come over for bollito misto?]