Short Stories & Novels

I was about to confess to my online chat partner in person when a barrage of comments suddenly flashed across my mind. [Don't bother. Jedediah is avoiding her right now. He's regretting ever mixing her up with someone else.] [It's all her fault for using a profile picture so similar to Georgia's. Otherwise, Jedediah wouldn't have gotten confused.] [It's annoying to think that when Jedediah lost a game, it was the supporting role, Monica, who comforted him. All those sweet words he said were meant for the female lead, Georgia.] [Jedediah is grossed out by it, too. Georgia only added him as a friend yesterday. It's so frustrating.] [Monica is a bane!] Dazed, I ran into Jedediah Merritt, who had just finished playing basketball. He quickly averted his gaze, but I moved around him, shoving the love letter into his roommate's hands. Online chat partner? I had more than one, sending my goodnight voice messages to several people every night.

On Christmas, my younger brother, Tyler Posner, and I were playing “Never Have I Ever” with our relatives. After the third round, everything got intense. An uncle said he had been out in the city at 4 a.m., a cousin said he could play three instruments, and I said I had been to three different countries for work. Then, it was Tyler’s turn. He looked up with his eyes shining. “I have a house that only I own.” He paused before adding, “Mom bought it for me. She said it’s so my in-laws don’t look down on me after I marry someone.” Everyone was quiet around the dining table. I looked over at Mom. She was straightening her apron and avoiding my gaze.

I was the belle of the school, good grades and all. But I wasn't the nerd they thought I was. I had been secretly dating my adopted brother's sworn enemy for three years. Lucian Palma had a strong desire for intimacy, so I went along with him in unlocking countless places to make love. He promised that he would marry me after graduation. Once he took over the family business from his wealthy father, he would make me the happiest woman alive. I believed him, even indulging him in his kink of recording us sleeping together. Lucian assured me that those videos were for his eyes only, and that no one else would ever see them. But then, I accidentally overheard a conversation between Lucian and his friends. "Lucian, you had deliberately staged a hero saving the damsel in distress situation to make Nina Etienne fall for you, all just to get it back at your archnemesis, Aaron North. If he found out his little sister had been sleeping with you, wouldn't it kill him with rage? "You've filmed hundreds of intimate videos, haven't you? When do you plan to release them? We'd love to see the nerd stripped bare under you." I didn't confront him about this. Instead, I quietly walked away and agreed to meet the fiance my father had arranged for me.

The one I've loved for ten years hates me to his core. He comes up with various ways to hurt and belittle me. He even deliberately lets me hear him having a steamy night with someone else. "You're the unsightly blemish that marred my otherwise perfect life," he says. The thing that he regrets the most in his entire life is getting to know me. In the end, I die. However, he regrets it dearly.

When my young sister, Sharon, did something wrong for the first time, my mother downloaded an AI child education app. The AI said, "I think that punishing Sharon isn't effective. Why not punish her older sister, Sherry, whom she is close to? That way, Sharon will be disciplined because of her love for Sherry." Since then, I was used as a tool to discipline Sharon. Sharon loved ordering delivery, and my mother followed the AI's advice to dose my food delivery with ten packets of laxatives, which landed me in the emergency room. She used this opportunity to teach Sharon a lesson about food safety. When Sharon stayed out all night and did not come home, my mother followed the AI's advice to get five homeless men to drag me into the alleyway and rape me after I came home late from school to teach Sharon to protect herself. Sharon wanted to adopt a dog, so my mother took the AI's advice to release a mongrel with rabies into my room. I was bitten because I could not evade the dog's attack, as my mother locked me in the room with it. "Once your sister comes back from school, I'll show her the consequences of adopting a dog! "The AI told me that there is a one-month incubation period for rabies. When Sharon finally admits her mistake, I'll take you to the hospital for a vaccination." However, she had no idea that I had been bitten in the head. By the time Sharon returned, I had contracted rabies. My mother used my life as the price to pay for disciplining my sister.

How rich can a person be? My wife is incredibly rich. People call her "The Queen of Cloudridge" because nearly half the city's properties are owned by her. We've been married for five years, and every time she goes out to meet her first love, she transfers a property to my name. By the time I have 99 homes in my name, she suddenly notices that something has changed. I no longer cry, beg, or ask her to stay. I simply choose the finest mansion in all of Cloudridge, bring the property deed with me, and wait for her to sign it. She signs the papers, and for the first time, she softens. "When I get back, let's go watch the fireworks together." I quietly tuck the agreement away and hum in response. But I never tell her what she's really signed this time. It's not a property deed. It's our divorce agreement.

After my rebirth, I decided to draw a hard line between myself and the heir of the Mafia Family, Carlo Gutierrez. He had his golden retriever take my seat and told everyone I wasn't even fit to touch dog food at his party. After that, I never sat at the main table again. He complained that my voice was giving him a headache and got in the way of his business, so I muted myself in front of him. He sneered that I reeked, so I packed up and went back to my rundown apartment in the slums, never setting foot on his territory again. In the end, he said just having me around would ruin his marriage alliance with the Moreno Family's Principessa. I nodded, then accepted someone else's proposal without hesitation. I made the choices opposite to what I made in my last life. After I married him in my previous life, the Moreno Family's Principessa was killed in a shootout. Carlo concluded I was the culprit and threw me into the basement for torture before finally throwing my body into the sea. Later, when he saw me with another man, he confronted me with red eyes. "Rosa Shaw, you've had your fun. Come back with me, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened!"

My promised mate, August Sterling, fell in love with my sister, Anna Morgart. However, I was supposed to be his fated mate. Yet, he held no feelings for me. Time and again, he put off our mating ritual. Due to the delays, the mate bond wrecked my body with incredible agony. Still, August turned his back on me. His eyes were only fixated on the tiniest cut on Anna’s hand. On the 99th scheduled ceremony, August once again abandoned me for Anna. He simply said, “Anna’s in a foul mood today. I need to cheer her up at the amusement park. The ritual can wait until next week.” As August walked away, I gritted my teeth and fought back the brewing turmoil within. August had one more chance. The Moon Goddess promised that by the 100th time August decided to move the ceremony away, I would be granted the choice to sever the mate bond.

I create a fake account, add Lucas Bennett's lover, and then help her with advice and strategy. "A little drama keeps the spark alive. If you don't stir things up now and then, how else will he remember to pay attention to you?" So on my birthday, he spends an hour in the bathroom coaxing her to eat. On our fifth anniversary, Lucas sneaks off to a hotel and spends an hour tangled up with her. Lucas spends less time with me, but their relationship grows stronger. On the night of the company banquet, when Lucas is entertaining important clients, I tell her, "Lucas' girlfriend will be there too. If you don't ruin this contract, they'll be tied together forever." That evening, she picks up a glass of red wine and dumps it over my head. Lucas, who's been fawning over my dad, completely lost his composure.

Studying abroad can be incredibly lonely at times. That night, I was in my room, indulging in a little treat for myself, when my best friend suddenly burst through the door. "Doing it yourself is no fun. Come on. There's a super cool cabaret show going on. Let's go see it together!" On stage, my friend was reclining in a chair behind the curtain, with two strong-looking men on top of her. "Come on. Join us for a group dance..."

On our wedding anniversary, my CEO husband, Michael Grant, invited me to watch the ocean with him. Tragically, a typhoon hit. I stood there in the raging wind and rain for over two hours, and he never showed up. In the end, all I got was a text that he was suddenly going on a business trip and couldn’t make it. Right after that, his intern, Nora Blake, posted a video on her social feed. It showed my usually pampered husband barefoot while helping fishermen haul crates of seafood. Her caption read: "Our hardworking CEO loves to get his hands dirty!" I laughed and commented: "Diligent and enduring—a true role model for us all." The company Slack channel instantly exploded. Everyone was betting on whether I’d finally blow up this time. Michael called me, his voice tight with fury, "Lauren West! What the heck did you mean by posting that comment? Are you trying to humiliate Nora in public? "It was a typhoon. I helped her family move some fish. What’s the big deal? You’re such a pampered little princess who has no idea how hard life really is. Delete that comment now. I’ll take you to the coast another day." Disgust churned in me. I replied, "Let a man who’s already rolled in the mud take me to the ocean? Forget it." Yes. Michael was now tainted, and I didn’t want him anymore.

In our circle, everyone assumed that the rebellious bad boy, Dominic Ashford, was madly in love with me. A sworn bachelor, he made an exception just for me. But no one knew that on the night I miscarried, he was out street racing with his unforgettable first love, Vivian Lane. Only after losing his child did he truly transform from a boy into a man. Trading his leather jacket for a suit. Removing his ear studs and putting on glasses. Settling down to stay by my side and manage the business. I thought he had finally understood the meaning of "home." Until the day I was preparing his fifth anniversary gift and, on a whim, tried on those black-rimmed glasses he never took off. In the glow of the smart lenses, I watched my reflection in the mirror transform into Vivian Lane’s face. At that same moment, his computer screen lit up with a message from Vivian: “Dominic, she hasn’t been giving you trouble again, has she? The baby kicked me again today. When are you coming to see us?” In an instant, my blood ran cold. So for the past six months, the love I thought had finally come back to me was nothing more than Dominic looking at me through those AR glasses and seeing another woman. And his sudden devotion, his doting attention to my every need, was all just to keep me, the “stand-in,” content, so the woman he truly loved could carry his child in peace. This time, I didn’t beg with red-rimmed eyes the way I always had before. Instead, I calmly placed the glasses back where I found them and dug out the divorce papers I’d prepared long ago from the bottom of the closet.

My family's fate was sealed in an ancient war. We saved the lord of the Clare clan. In return, their lord forged an ancient blood pact with my line. Each generation, a woman from my family can choose a mate from the Clare heirs, to birth a hybrid child—one who walks in daylight, blessed with eternal life. When my time came, I didn't hesitate. I chose the eldest son, Evan, who had been in a cursed slumber for a century. Every vampire in the room was in disbelief. After all, everyone knew I'd spent the last few years obsessed with the third son, Julian. It had to be him, or no one. In my last life, I got my wish. I bonded with Julian and helped him seize control of the family's vast biotech empire. But after our union, he started an affair with my adopted sister, Chloe. To punish her for breaking the blood pact, the family exiled Chloe. Julian, however, was convinced I had orchestrated the whole thing. He hated me to his very core. From then on, he kept a string of lovers, and every single one of them looked like Chloe. The heartbreak shattered me. In the end, he poisoned my life-sustaining elixirs, making my flesh rot from my bones, and sacrificed my very soul in a dark ritual. Reborn, I decided to let them have each other. But I never imagined Julian would be reborn, too.

Kaden Zacarias and I have been together for a decade. He gives me all his love throughout that time. But one day, I see the news of him marrying Gwendolyn Crawford as part of a marriage alliance. He tells his friends, "I'm only fooling around with Ella—does she think I'll actually marry her? It's not like my parents will ever agree to it. I can just keep her around as a mistress after getting married. Remember to keep your mouths shut about this." Our decade-long love goes up in flames, but I don't question him. Instead, I call my father with a withered heart and say, "I'll go through with the marriage alliance. I'll leave the country."

After my graduation, my boyfriend, Alpha Draco Pierce of the Silverpine pack, arranges for me to work as his personal assistant in the pack trading company. Draco has promised me countless times that I'll still be his Luna despite my race as a human being. But that day, when I seek him out to talk about our wedding, I accidentally overhear his conversation with another wolf outside his office. "Oh, Lea? She's just a useless human woman! How could she become my Luna?" Draco chuckles softly. "Her figure is average. There's nothing special about her at all. I don't even feel like touching her even if she stands before me, completely naked. "That woman is so naive that she's practically an idiot at this point. Calling her brainless is an understatement. Still, I can easily cheer her up with just a few words and toy around with her. She's an easy one to manipulate, that's for sure. "That's why I keep her around as a pet."

At my engagement banquet, a student sponsored by my fiancé sneaked drugs into a wine glass. To save my meticulously planned event, I quietly had a servant replace the glass. But then, the student and a notorious playboy had a scandalous encounter. A video leaked. Her reputation was ruined, and she jumped to her death. Then my refined fiancé forced me to kneel at her grave and tortured me to death with drugs. Only then did I learn she was his lifelong love. When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the engagement banquet.

On the day of the divorce hearing, the judge went through the usual questions. “You’ve only been married for three years. Are you certain your marriage has broken down beyond repair?” I forced a bitter smile. I took off my wedding ring and placed it on the table. “We were married for three years, yet we were never together for all three years. “Your Honor, is there anything left between us?” We dated for five years before marriage. My name was pinned at the top of his WhatsApp. I was his emergency contact. I was even the beneficiary of his insurance policy. I thought I had married the right man. But on our wedding day, he received a phone call, and his face instantly turned pale. I asked him what happened. He only said his mother was sick. He left everything behind and immediately booked a flight back to his hometown. For the next three years, he sent me photos of his three meals every day, but his mother never appeared in any of those photos. I felt sorry for him. I even offered to quit my job and go back with him to take care of her. He had refused and said softly, “I can’t bear to let you do that.” A month ago, I saw a cancer influencer’s account online. Orion Young appeared in one of her vlogs. The caption was heartwarming. [He’s there when I wake up. He’s there for every meal. His hands are always there for me to hold.] What did that make me? For 1,095 days, I had only myself. He had been lying to me. The judge struck the gavel for the final time and asked, “Have you made your decision?” I nodded firmly. The court officially ended the marriage. I looked at the divorce judgment in my hands, and my tears finally fell. I thought, “Orion, I’m setting you free. I’m setting both of us free.”

The Gray family was one of the most affluent families in Imperia's elite circles. They were also the sort of family that placed great importance on family hierarchy regardless of age. Perhaps I was being biased because my father somehow had me at the ripe old age of 80. As a result, I became one of the highest-ranking members in the Gray family ever since I was born, despite my very young age. During my full-month celebration, a 60-year-old real estate tycoon cooed at me, waving a deed, "Aw, little great-aunt. Don't cry, and I'll give you three estates." A 50-year-old medical expert quickly slid on surgical gloves. "Stay away from our great-aunt! Don't suffocate the baby!" My entire family spoiled me rotten. And so, I still acted like a spoiled princess even though I was already 20 years old. One day, I was hit with a sudden whimsy of following the trend by going on blind dates… only to run into a massive mama's boy. I looked at the crabs and quietly asked, "Can you crack them for me?" He slammed the plate and barked, "You don't get to act spoiled here! My mother told me I should find a wife who can work! If you can't even crack crabs, then you can't possibly cook or clean for us!" The guy had speakerphone on, allowing his mother to chime in, "If she wants to latch on to our family, she needs to learn how to serve us!" My eyes turned teary as I opened up my family's group chat and sent a voice message, my voice sobbing. The entire Gray family heard me cry. "Some uggo wants me to marry him just to serve his family!"

My wife had red-green color blindness. She couldn't tell red from green, so she never drove. For our wedding, she hired a design team to decorate the venue. Everywhere I looked was green. Even my groom's hat had been custom-made in green. My oldest friend spoke up for me in front of everyone. I just smiled and let it go. "My wife decorated it, so I like it." Then the city launched a traffic crackdown, and I was pulled in to help with roadside enforcement. At the end of the shift, the car I stopped turned out to be my oldest friend's. I kept my helmet on, planning to mess with him a little. "Afternoon. License and registration, please." The license came through the window, and I looked up. My wife was behind the wheel. My oldest friend was in the passenger seat.

My mother, Yvonne Scott, is a maternal health specialist who has helped countless women safely deliver healthy babies. Her delivery with my older brother goes smoothly, but she suffers a difficult labor with me. After everything she endures to bring me into the world, I'm diagnosed with autism at the age of six. Dad can't accept it, so he leaves her. Mom blames me for derailing her career and destroying her marriage. Even as a kid, I can always see the resentment in her eyes. Over the next two years, she loses me twice. The third time, I watch her burn every trace of my existence. That's why I choose to leave home. 20 years later, I become a child psychologist specializing in autism and work as a special education specialist at Haverly's most prestigious school for children with autism. The school requires every incoming student to attend a one-on-one introductory session before the new term begins. When I spot Yvonne arriving with her grandson, my heart drops.