Short Stories & Novels

There's a ten-car collision on the highway, and I'm trapped in one of ten. For some reason, none of the ambulances can get to us. I desperately call my boyfriend to ask for help. I expect him to immediately come to my rescue, but he merely snaps at me. "Yvette didn't even make a sound when she sliced her finger. Couldn't you have just dodged when the accident happened? You're not crippled or anything! Stop being so childish at your age!" He doesn't want me to disturb him anymore, so he blocks my number. Fortunately, a kind soul saves me and takes me to the hospital. I survive the ordeal. When I leave the hospital, I see a breaking news report on the screen in the lobby. "Love exists in the world! Mr. Fenton spends a fortune to gather the city's ambulances to save his true love when she slices her finger!" The news report makes my heart ache. I pull out the ring I was going to use for my proposal and throw it away without hesitation. Henry Fenton and I have been together for 14 years, but I don't want the relationship anymore.

My younger sister, Lydia Miller, and I are unexpectedly reborn into a beastman tribe, where the Beast God gives us a choice of identity. The first option is to become a beast woman with tremendous strength and a tall, imposing physique. The second option is to become a saintess with the ability to reproduce across species and an alluring, graceful figure. In our previous life, Lydia became a beast woman to survive, while I became the frail saintess. She ended up scorned by the tribe's beastmen for not being feminine enough. Meanwhile, I captured the hearts of the three strongest and most handsome beastmen in the tribe with my delicate frame. I became their most cherished beloved. Eventually, they rose to rule the primeval forest, and I basked in endless glory as their saintess. Driven mad with jealousy, Lydia pushed me into a poison swamp when no one was looking. With my last bit of strength, I plunged a poisonous thorn into her body, and we died together. When I open my eyes again, we're back at the moment when the Beast God asks us to make our choice. This time, Lydia rushes to claim the saintess identity first. "Ella, this time I'll be the saintess. Since I pity you so much, I'll let you have those three defective, impotent beastmen." I bite back the wild joy flooding through me. What's so great about serving as a breeding tool anyway? In a primitive society, strength is everything.

What was even more humiliating than discovering her fiancé’s affair was hearing him claim he’d lost interest in her, and that he had gotten another woman pregnant. In the world of adults, it’s never about right or wrong—only about leverage. Heather Jenner couldn’t afford to lose the status she was so close to achieving as a wealthy wife. Let him have his fun, she thought. If he could stray, why shouldn’t she find another man to father her child? And so, she set her sights on his younger brother—the one who outshone him in every way.

After catching my supposedly frigid wife, Emmy Winslow, aroused by our household robot butler, I swallowed my disgust and sent the machine to a destruction facility. I never expected that decision to cost her life. On the way to chase after the robot, Emmy was involved in a horrific car accident and died at the scene. From that day on, I became notorious in our social circle as the jealous husband who drove his wife to her death. Five years passed. Night after night, I tortured myself by wondering if she would still be alive had I not been so petty over a machine. Until today, while discussing business at a private club, I passed a half-open VIP suite and heard one of Emmy's closest friends teasing her. "Emmy, how much longer are you planning to keep up this fake-death act?" A familiar voice answered, one I could never mistake, that was tinged with indulgence and amusement. "As soon as Corbin Ellery's heart condition is cured. Back then, if Grayson hadn't insisted on sending the butler to the destruction plant, Corbin wouldn't have needed to pretend his system malfunctioned. And I wouldn't have had to fake my death to help him disappear completely." Another friend clicked her tongue. "Still, nobody expected you to go this far. Having Corbin wear a custom synthetic skin suit and pose as a robot butler right under your husband's nose all those years? That's insane." Fake death? Corbin? The blood drained from my face. The woman I had mourned for five years was alive. And the robot that had stirred her desire had never been a robot at all. It was my closest friend. A passing server accidentally slammed into me, sending a tray crashing to the floor. The conversation inside stopped instantly. Emmy turned toward the doorway, and our eyes met.

On his birthday, my boyfriend, Donald Cole, made three wishes over the cake I had baked with my own hands. First, he wished Cecily Reynauld would be happy every day. Second, he wished Cecily's project would win its award. Third, he wished the cat that Cecily and he were raising together would grow up healthy. Cecily Reynauld… My best friend. I stood there, frozen. But everyone else in the room laughed and cheered. Blushing, Cecily gave Donald a playful shove. "Why didn't you make a wish for Summer? "She is your girlfriend after all." Donald smiled with absolute confidence. "Do I even have to guess what she wants? "She obviously wants to marry me." The next second, he dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring. If this had happened before, I probably would have cried and said yes. But this time, my eyes locked onto the ring as he slid it onto my ring finger. It slid right back down. It was one size too big. Exactly Cecily's size. A faint smile tugged at my lips. I'd loved Donald Cole for seven years. While letting him go only took a single moment.

On our third wedding anniversary, I brought a gift to my husband’s office. Walking past the secretary's suite, I stopped dead. A king-size bed had been set up inside. A young woman in a designer dress was sprawled across it, a handheld game console in her hands, surrounded by imported snacks of every variety. "Kevin, the lunch you ordered yesterday was pre-packaged meals. Marcus and I both felt sick after eating it. Today, make sure it's from The Palace Hotel." Kevin -- my husband's personal assistant -- bowed and scraped before her, his face a mask of obsequious flattery. "Mrs. Thorne, please don't worry. Mr. Thorne made it very clear -- everything should be tailored to your preferences and the baby's. He knows you love the chef at The Palace Hotel, so he set up a standing VIP account for you. Anything you want, anytime." She was Mrs. Thorne? Then what exactly was I? My brow furrowed. I glanced down at the wedding ring I'd worn for years. The girl beamed, radiant. "For the baby's arrival, my husband is throwing a lavish yacht party. Every important person in New York is getting an invitation. I want the whole world to know that I'm the love of his life, and that our son will be blessed by the most powerful people before he's even born. The champagne and flowers must be the finest available -- no budget limit. Our child is going to have the best of everything from day one." I stared at the gentle swell of her belly and called my father. "Dad, that divorce agreement you drew up three years ago -- you can have the lawyers send it over now."

I agreed to transfer out of Central Wolf Academy with Lucien because he said he was being bullied. Eighteen years old and still unawakened, in an academy obsessed with bloodline purity and dominance, he stood out in all the wrong ways. So he begged me to leave with him—to move to a less demanding school, where lineage mattered less. The day before we were supposed to finalize everything, I went to find him. Outside the door.That was when I heard it. One of his Beta companions drawled, amused. “I’ll give you that, Lucien. Pretending you were being hunted just to get her to leave Central Academy for you.” Another voice hesitated. “You two grew up together. You’re really letting her go like that?” Lucien answered without pause, his tone relaxed, faintly amused. “It’s not even overseas. She’ll be fine.” Then, colder. “She’s clung to me since we were kids. I was getting tired of it. This is… efficient.” I didn’t confront him.I turned and walked away. Back in my room, I reopened the transfer application. I crossed out the name of the ordinary werewolf academy he claimed he needed—and wrote in the one my parents had insisted on years ago. Everyone had forgotten something. I am the sole heir of the Bloodmoon Pack. And Lucien—an illegitimate son tolerated by the Silvercrest Alpha—would never touch the Alpha throne without a formal bond to me. One day, he would realize that what he discarded was not just my devotion.

After failing to conquer Quinn Langley 99 times in a row, I finally give up on my quest. When Quinn insists on going on a vacation with the female lead, Melody Frost, during our fifth wedding anniversary, I grant his wish. When he wants to give Melody a proper title, I file for a divorce from him immediately. Even when Quinn wants to give the newborn that I've risked my life delivering to this world to Melody, I just nod and let him take the baby away. Upon noticing the pallor in my cheeks, Quinn goes down on one knee next to me and starts coaxing me softly. "Melody is afflicted with a terminal disease, and she's infertile too. Her biggest wish in this lifetime is to form a family with me. "Don't worry. Once she's passed away, I'll remarry you immediately. This time, we'll spend the rest of our lives as a family." What he doesn't know is that we no longer have a future together. I've already given up on the conquest mission, after all. In three days, I'll get eradicated by the system and leave this world for good.

The first thing I do after regaining my memories and finding my family is share the good news with my wife, Christine Blackwell. However, I discover that the woman who has shared my bed for three years is already someone else's wife. The marriage certificate she registered with me three years ago is a forgery. The real marriage certificate is the one she secretly registered with Edison Whitman, the factory director's son. She tells me that Edison comes from a far better background. As a distant relative of the Carrington family in Regalton, he can provide opportunities that I never could. She tells me to stop making a scene. What she doesn't know is that the Carrington family in Regalton which she speaks of… is actually my family.

After the Sullivan Group went bankrupt, I abandoned everything and followed Jessica to Tylen City. It took her five years, but she eventually inherited her father's legacy and climbed back into the top three on the Forbes rankings. Yet, she never once brought up any word about marriage. That lasted until the night before the Day of the Dead. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her lighting candles while facing the direction of Cinea. "Dad, Mom, forgive me. I couldn't visit you this year because of work, but please continue to protect Chris and bless us with happiness for the rest of our lives." When I heard this, warmth filled my heart. My health was on the frail end of the scale. In the past, she always returned on her own since she didn't want me to be exhausted over this. This year, I decided to make the trip on her behalf after seeing the longing hidden in her eyes. However, what I never expected was to see the name of her former fiancé beside her name on the gravestone. Moreover, his title was engraved as her husband. As I looked further down, I saw another name beneath theirs. It was a name that belonged to their three-year-old son. At that moment, I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning. Only then did I realize that it wasn't Christopher she was referring to when she said, "Chris." Instead, it was Christian.

In the seventh year of her marriage to Daniel Horton, Quinn White overheard her son ask in a naive voice, "Dad, why can't Aunt Charlotte be my mom?" Quinn froze. Did he mean Charlotte Scott, Daniel's first love? Before she could process whether she had misheard, a speeding car hurtled straight toward her son. Instinctively, Quinn charged forward and pushed her son out of harm's way. The massive impact caused her to lose consciousness. When she woke up, Quinn let out a sigh of relief as she looked at her husband and son standing by the hospital bed, completely unharmed. She was about to reassure them she was fine when her son's painful question echoed in her mind. Spurred by an impulse, she put on a bewildered look. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything right now." The two standing before the hospital bed were caught off guard for a second before immediately ringing the bell to call the doctor over. After a thorough examination, the doctor reached a conclusion. "A blood clot formed in the patient's brain following the car accident, which will lead to temporary amnesia." Once the doctor left, Quinn maintained that same bewildered act. "How did I end up in a car accident? Who are you, and what do you have to do with me?" Daniel frowned, opening his mouth to speak, when a gleeful childish voice cut him off. "You're the family nanny!"

I had been with the company for eleven years. One day, the boss’ son was abruptly planted as my immediate superior. In order to establish his power, he started to humiliate me. He splashed coffee on my face in front of our client. “Why are you serving our most prestigious client this nasty drink? You’re embarrassing the company!” I was furious. However, I held my anger back for the sake of the company. During our townhall meeting, he threw my proposal to the floor. “We’re not an old folks’ home. We don’t take care of useless pieces of shit like you.” I did not leave the next day. Instead, I asked my personal assistant to publish a notice on the digital display at our office building. [Due to the tenant’s unstable emotions, the lease on the 17th floor of this office building will not be renewed when it expires next month.]

Eight years ago, I broke the heart of the boy I loved. Now, after eight years overseas, Liam Hayes was finally coming home with his new girlfriend to meet his family. That same day, the hospital gave me its final answer. The cancer had won. There was nothing left to treat. Nothing left to try. They sent me home with only time. When Liam saw my mother helping me into a wheelchair, a cold smile touched his mouth. “Eight years,” he said. “And this is what became of you? You can’t even walk anymore?” Disgust laced every word. I only tugged the sleeve of my down coat lower, hiding the cluster of needle marks across the back of my hand. “It’s nothing,” I said quietly. “I fell and broke a bone. That’s all.” Liam gave a short, bitter laugh. “In that case, I’m getting married soon. Why don’t you come be my fiancée’s bridesmaid?” I smiled as if it did not hurt at all. “No, thank you. I’m about to leave for somewhere very far away.” Then I patted the back of Mom’s hand, silently asking her to take me home.

After I fail my mission, the system grants me three days to say goodbye. For the first time, I become the perfect husband in Kristen Snowe's eyes. I stop waiting up for her when she doesn't come home. I stop fighting with her over the money she keeps giving to her childhood friend, Jake Leigh. On the first day, she scoffs at me. "If you'd acted like this from the beginning, I wouldn't feel so sick and tired of you!" On the second day, she starts to get suspicious. "That's it? You're not mad? You're not up to something, are you?" By the third day, she's the one falling apart. "Honey… Why aren't you jealous anymore?" I smile. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

I went abroad for three years to build a lab and save my husband's company from collapse. After endless struggles, I finally cracked the technical problems and developed the core technology. When I returned home with that breakthrough, I saw the airport video board plastered with the same impossible headline—my husband was getting married. I felt a hot, furious ache and took a taxi straight to the venue. … A woman who had cared for our household for years blocked me at the gate and sneered. "Who do you think you are, showing up at the Stone family's wedding? Get out of here, or I'll get security to throw you out." For a moment, I stood rooted, but then the bride appeared, walking out of the villa in a wedding gown. It was the woman Adrian Stone had once told me was dead—his first love, Evelyn Sutton. She wore my wedding ring on her finger and looked at me with pure contempt. "You want to make a scene at my wedding?" she said. "If you do, you're really asking for trouble. My husband, Adrian, won't hesitate to take care of you." I folded my arms and let out a cold laugh. "Adrian's getting married? Funny, I don't recall getting an invitation."

I was a top-tier heart surgeon. The kind they gave a government-issued black SUV with diplomatic plates—armored, red-light-skipping, cleared-for-anything kind of ride. I parked it at my fiancé Marco Varonetti's place so he could keep it in shape. Bad call. One day, I got an emergency call: heart transplant for the Chancellor—yeah, that Chancellor, the one with state secrets ticking inside him. I rushed over to Marco's to grab the car. Right as I was about to leave, some rando slid into the back seat like she owned it. "Mall first. I need a mani," she barked. "Then get the ice cream Marco ordered. If it melts, I'll kill you." Excuse me? "This is my car," I said, trying to stay chill. "I've got a critical airport run. You need to get out." She rolled her eyes. "You're just the driver. Open those eyes and check the plate." Then the maid chimed in. "Everyone knows Mr. Varonetti takes Ms. Caro out in this car. Nobody says a word." I froze. Marco used my federally issued SUV... to chauffeur her? This wasn't just messy. This was criminal.

My fated mate, Alpha Kane Fenwick, rejects me for another she-wolf. That same night, rogues ambush him. The rejection tears his wolf apart, and the brutal fight shatters his memory. He remembers nothing. "Who… are you?" "I'm your mate, your future Luna." I corner him by Sacred Spring and close my hand around his wrist. "Can't you feel the bond between us?" I've made my peace with his rejection, but the bond between fated mates still has its hooks in him. The ice in his eyes starts to thaw, and I watch him walk straight into my lie. Good. Let Kane fall for me all over again, so hard he can't break free. Then I'll show him exactly what it's like to be cast aside by the one he loves most.

My wife, Heather Conner, secretly steals the funds I've saved up for our daughter, Naomi Hartman's surgery. After that, she books a high-class hotel for Jared Winters, the low-income student she has been sponsoring, just so she can celebrate his birthday with him. When I find out about it, I demand that Heather return all the money to me. But she slaps me immediately and blames me and Naomi for causing her trouble on purpose. "This is the first birthday Jared and I are celebrating together! Since it's such a big day, it's only natural that I hold it in a grand and lavish manner! "Instead, you two insist on undergoing that stupid surgery just when I've booked the hotel instead of scheduling it at any other time! You really are vile! "I've already inquired with the doctor about the surgery. Turns out it's completely optional! I might as well put the money to good use by giving Jared an unforgettable birthday instead of having you waste it on a useless surgery! "Even if Naomi does end up dying, that means she's fated to die anyway! You can't blame anyone for her death!" Heather just abandons Naomi, who's still fighting for her life. She then drives Jared to the hotel, where they spend the night watching a beautiful fireworks display. With 12 critical notices issued by the doctor in my hand, I kneel before Monica Brown, the richest woman in the city. "I'm willing to marry into your family as long as you pay me 35 thousand dollars' worth of wedding gifts!"

On my fourth year anniversary, my wife, Rachel Brady, hands over a divorce agreement to me. "My mom is afflicted with a severe disease, and she's dying soon. Her final wish is to watch us get a divorce. "I promise that this is just a fake divorce. Once my mom has passed away, we'll get remarried again." As I watch Rachel sob sadly in front of me, I agree to her proposition out of sympathy. But as soon as we get divorced, Rachel quickly posts a photo of her and her first love, Max Cohen, in wedding attire on her social media account. Even my ex-mother-in-law, who's said to live on borrowed time, is included in the same photo while looking hearty and hale.

My sister and I were both reborn on the very day the marriage pacts were to be chosen. In our previous life, she was the one who married Adrian, the Black-Armored Duke whose reputation for cold brutality struck fear into all. She endured his indifference until she was cast out and sent back to the Vere family in disgrace. I married Lucian, the White Knight, gentle and gracious as carved jade. I wore the Duchess's coronet and became the envy of all. She was consumed by jealousy, convinced I had stolen her true love. So she killed me. And so, this time around, she rushed ahead of everyone else, personally tying the white stag ribbon that represented Lucian, shoving the Black Wolf that everyone feared straight into my path. She was certain she had seized the glory that was meant for me. She had no idea that the dazzling life of a Duchess had cost me endless drug trials, prolonged captivity, and countless escape attempts that nearly killed me. The moment Lucian leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand, I heard his icy thought. [Which drug should I try tonight that won't leave marks?] My sister was still basking in the thrill of her conquest. She thought she had stolen my golden life. She had no idea that what she was clutching so tightly was the very hell I had spent my entire previous life fighting to escape.