Short Stories & Novels

My new patient, Lydia Baldwin, has called the police 99 times. Her voice trembles with fear as she says, "My son has a mole on his neck, but the one now doesn't! My husband used to throw up at the smell of cilantro. But now, he eats it every day and even enjoys it! "They are impostors! Why won't the police arrest them?" I am deeply shocked. Because just half an hour earlier, I met her son. He had dark circles under his eyes as he handed me Lydia's medical records. "My mom has Alzheimer's disease. She doesn't just forget things now. She talks nonsense too. Please, you have to help her come to her senses." But I specialize in treating Alzheimer's. Lydia's memory is sharp. Her logic is clear and well-supported. She isn't sick at all.

I woke in the middle of the night to my Don husband murmuring in his sleep. “Juno, be good. Tomorrow I’ll buy you and Mamma a new house.” My eyes flew open. Juno? That was the name I’d always planned for a purebred Ceylon cat I dreamed of owning, but I’d never gotten one because of my pet fur allergy. And a new house? Could this just be a coincidence? I shook him lightly. “What did you just say?” He frowned and mumbled coarsely, “Had a nightmare. Dreamt of a shootout.” I didn’t press further. In the darkness, I reached for his phone and silently opened his messages.

After my body was taken over by a conqueror for five years, I finally got it back. Full of hope, I rushed to see the family I had missed so much. What I got instead were their cold and complicated expressions. My girlfriend even asked me directly, "Why did you come back?" I was deeply disappointed, but I still refused to believe that they had already given their hearts to the conqueror. In my despair, I made a deal with the System. "Please bring that conqueror back." My family happily welcomed his return. But they never knew the truth. The conqueror's real goal was to push them all into absolute ruin.

My Mate, Alpha Ronan, locked me in our penthouse. All for his childhood sweetheart, Jessica. It was her birthday. That was the night fire consumed our home. I clutched my five-month pregnant belly. The pain was too much. I couldn't shift. I desperately called the pack guards. "Help me... I'm locked in. The apartment's on fire—" Silence. Then a cold voice. It was his right-hand man. "Amelia, the Alpha gave an order. Any alarms from the penthouse tonight are just you having a meltdown. Don't waste the pack's resources." The line went dead. I tried the pack's medical team. The operator hesitated. "Luna, I'm sorry. The Alpha has declared the penthouse off-limits. We can't enter without his direct order." Then the call was rerouted. To my Alpha. To Ronan. I heard his ice-cold voice. "She's losing it. My Mate loves to make a scene. Ignore her." Smoke filled the room. I shattered the balcony's glass door and jumped. From the 30th floor. I survived. But the doctor told me the fall and the shock had been too much. I’d gone into labor. My pup, our heir… was gone. And I could never have another. That same night, my Alpha was clasping the Luna's moonstone necklace around another woman's throat. A birthday gift for her.

On New Year's Eve, my cousin and I went to the supermarket to stock up for the holiday when a cold wave hit out of nowhere. The temperature plummeted dozens of degrees, and the world plunged into an ice-cold apocalypse. In the blink of an eye, people froze solid into ice sculptures. I scrambled to grab winter coats and whatever supplies I could, but my cousin just sat there playing video games. He even posted his pentakill on social media to brag about it. I went through hell to snag him a down jacket, and he still insisted he was not afraid of the cold. "I'm a real man. You think a little cold scares me?" He refused to eat the compressed biscuits. He even used our scarce bottled water to wash his limited-edition sneakers, then threw a fit demanding freshly pan-seared steak. "It's called having standards, look it up. Even if I die, I'm dying tough and with style!" I scoffed. Since he wanted to die tough, he could go right ahead and freeze into an ice sculpture. Ice sculptures were plenty tough.

After reliving my life for the third time, Soren Vantrell still died at 28. Unwilling to accept it, I started over again, meeting him and falling in love as before, until a sudden turn changed everything. He began claiming his mental state was unstable, using it as an excuse to visit his psychologist, Dr. Nadia Pembroke, again and again. Until one day, I caught them kissing inside her consultation room. With a light, mocking laugh, Soren said, "You might think I’m crazy if I told you this, but I really have died three times. Every single time, I died right next to Sloane Hartwell. "I was originally curious to see how she would try to save me this time. Now that I think about it, she must have been bad luck. Once I stayed far away from her, didn’t I end up living just fine?" I quietly stepped back. In this fourth life, whether he lived or died has nothing to do with me anymore. This time, I was going to live my own life.

In my family, fairness was practically a law. It all started with my older siblings, Xander and Kendra Hale. They were twins, and neither of them could bear the thought of the other getting even a little more. The smallest hint of favoritism was enough to start a fight. Because of that, everything had to be equal. If Xander got something, Kendra needed one too. If Kendra received anything, Xander expected the same. My parents followed that rule so strictly that almost everything in our house seemed to come in pairs—one for him, one for her. I learned early that I was never part of that equation. When I was still a child, I once looked at my mother and asked, "What about me?" She snapped before I could say anything more. "Your brother and sister already make things difficult enough. Can you please not add to it?" That was the last time I asked. Years passed, and I got used to being the one left out. Then my father bought a six-seater SUV. There were only five people in our family. For the first time, I looked at all that empty space and thought, maybe this time, there would finally be room for me. I should have known better. On the morning of our family road trip, rain poured from the sky as I stood beside the car with my bag clutched in one hand. Two empty seats should have been waiting for me. Instead, Kendra's cat was curled up comfortably in one, while Xander's dog had taken over the other. I stared at them through the open door. Xander noticed immediately and pulled his dog closer. Kendra barely looked at me before rolling her eyes. "We already agreed to keep things fair. You're not taking my cat's seat." For a moment, I just stood there. The rain soaked through my clothes until they clung to my skin. Cold water ran down my face and into my collar, yet nobody moved. Eventually, my father looked over with obvious annoyance. "Why are you still standing there? Don't you have something else to do?" My hands were already numb from the cold. I looked at all of them sitting comfortably inside the car, then smiled. "Actually, I do. I'm not going." I turned around and walked back into the house without another word. A few minutes later, I opened my laptop and submitted the study-abroad application I had been putting off for months. For twenty years, I had waited for my family to give me the same fairness they fought so hard to protect. That morning, I finally understood the truth: they had always made space for me, but there was never truly a place for me. Once I realized that, I stopped waiting for one.

On New Year's Eve in the seventh year of our marriage, we're about to celebrate the holidays with a grand meal when my daughter, Piper Gallagher, drags my wife, Renee Fielding, out of the house. "Hurry up, Mom! Mr. Thomas is already urging us! He doesn't like waiting, you know!" At first, I'm stunned. Thinking that Piper is just joking around, I ask with a smile, "Who's this Mr. Thomas that you're talking about?" But Piper's soft and sweet voice plunges into my heart like a blade after I hear what she says next. "Well, Mr. Thomas is Mom's boyfriend! I can call him Tommy, too!" Renee's explanation is lodged in her throat. So, she decides to come clean about her affair instead. "The truth is, it's rather boring, spending the holidays with you every year. Besides, I've lost all love for you now that seven years are up. If you think this marriage still works, then I'll stick around. If not, we can get a divorce." The sudden bombshell leaves my mind completely blank. I can only look at Piper subconsciously. She doesn't show any affection to me, like she did in the past. Instead, she just hides behind Renee while mincing her words quietly. "I wanna be with Mom and Mr. Thomas." That night, Renee and Piper welcome the brand new year amid the fireworks and laughter. I, on the other hand, can only stare at the feast on the table on my lonesome, which has gone stone cold. Their words keep buzzing in my ears, tormenting me ruthlessly to the point that I can't sleep a wink at all. The next day, Renee and Piper go home reluctantly at noon. "Have you thought things through? If you plan on sticking around, then don't ask any questions. I don't want you kicking up a ruckus from now on, either. In the future, I'll introduce you to Thomas." It's then that I finally make up my mind. "Let's get a divorce, then."

After completing my studies overseas, it's time for me to marry Cynthia Norton, my childhood sweetheart. But on the day I'm supposed to pick up the wedding tuxedo, I see my tuxedo, which is a custom-ordered suit that's worth a million dollars, being worn by Theodore Hasting, the low-income student Cynthia is currently sponsoring. When I demand that the tuxedo be returned, I get called the homewrecker instead. People even mock me for being a boy toy who wants to take the shortcut by clinging to a rich woman. Cynthia tells me Theodore has never experienced wearing a wedding tuxedo before, so she wants me to graciously give him the chance. I like doing charity work the most. Since I can give a million-dollar wedding tuxedo away, I should just give the marriage contract away too. Then again, not anyone can simply accept the marriage contract meant for me, the heir of the Emerson family.

Eleanor Sutton was in love with Harrison Luther since she was 20 years old. She married him when she turned 22. Five years into their marriage, they had yet to have a child together. Harrison kept protecting Eleanor from his family while enduring the pressure they kept inflicting on him. At that time, everyone claimed that Eleanor was Harrison's weak spot. But everything changed once news of Harrison having an illegitimate child was leaked. He kneeled in the downpour for the whole day afterward as a form of punishment. Then, he explained to Eleanor that it was just an accident, and that he vowed to love her and her only. So, Eleanor accepted the outcome of the illegitimate child being kept in the family, while the mistress was exiled far, far away. But despite Harrison's promise, his mistress, Winona Birch, still ended up moving into Eleanor's home, where she'd be cared for during her pregnancy. Harrison began skipping meetings for her sake, and he'd also ditch Eleanor just so he could go on strolls with Winona. In fact, he'd even abandon Eleanor halfway during their dates in order to be with Winona. The first time Eleanor brought up divorce, Harrison slit his wrists in the bathroom. He left a suicide note, claiming that he'd rather die than not being able to grow old with Eleanor. When divorce was brought up the second time, Harrison hurriedly pleaded to Eleanor to not leave him. But after multiple conflicts, his attitude toward her became wishy-washy. After their 100th argument, Eleanor ran away from their home. Harrison no longer went after her, thinking that she'd eventually return to his side. But she died in that rainy night. When Eleanor opens her eyes again, she finds out that she has returned to the day Harrison's illegitimate child is exposed. This time, she dials a number. "I shall accept the offer of becoming a war correspondent." Her editor reminds her that she won't be able to get in touch with the outside world once she embarks on this journey, and that she needs Harrison's permission in order to accept the offer. Eleanor merely replies, "I'll divorce Harrison soon. I'll depart on time in a week." She wants to make sure that Harrison will never be able to find her anymore.

On my fifth year anniversary, the first two things I receive are two bills for water and electricity. My wife, Whitney Chapman, comes home at a late hour. She's carrying a food container that's filled with food that has gone cold. "Sorry, I was dealing with an extremely difficult client. I can only make it up to you with supper." She puts down the container before walking into the bathroom. While she doesn't reek of alcohol, there's dust coating the hem of her windbreaker. I call Whitney's secretary, only to find out that she has not been to the company today. A second before I end the call, the secretary adds, "By the way, Mr. Spencer, the new warehouse manager, Maxwell Clarke, was also absent from work today." Maxwell Clarke? The illegitimate child who brings nothing but shame to the Spencer family? What a big coincidence… or was it? I quickly contact the property manager of the villa based on the bills I've received. "A father-and-son duo have just moved into the villa last month." The manager then sends the list of inhabitants to me. The name listed is also Maxwell Clarke. This villa happens to be a property my father left for me back when Whitney and I first got married. Since it's too far from the city, I've left it vacant all this time because I wanted to reserve it as a villa meant for vacation purposes. Now, the people I hate are the ones living in that villa.

Whenever Rachel Cooper loses it, I know I'm about to get divorced again. I close my eyes. "We are divorcing for the ninth time." Marcus Miller massages his temples and says regretfully, "Vivian, Barry died all of a sudden, leaving his wife and her unborn baby behind. I can't ignore them. Relax. Once the baby's born, we'll remarry. We won't separate ever again!" I remain silent. I already heard this promise eight times before. Barry Miller's sudden death is the reason for Rachel's breakdown. It also caused Marcus and me to divorce for the first time. Back then, Rachel was already pregnant, prompting Marcus to divorce me. He will remarry me once he has comforted her. Over the past nine months, we have married and divorced eight times. Everyone mocks me by calling me the Eight-Ring Wonder. I also find it ridiculous. After I accept the divorce certificate, one of the court staff secretly asks me, "When are you getting married again?" I answer calmly, "There's no next time."

I'm the primary surgeon of the nation's biggest medical malpractice case. Apparently, I've screwed up intentionally in a joint surgery that leads to the instant deaths of five patients. My wife, Wanda Johnson's mother is one of them. The medical world purges my name immediately. The Internet demands that I pay the price with my own life. The patients' families kneel before the court with a petition. With tears running down my cheeks, they plead to the court to sentence me to death. In order to ease the public outrage, the court decides to euthanize me. The head of the investigative team of the health department wants to activate Project Nightingale. With the power of AI, the truth of what happened in the surgery will be re-enacted. But Wanda, who also works as a police officer, shoots that idea down. "There's no need for that. Do you actually want the patients' families to witness how their loved ones die again? The youngest patient is just an eight-year-old, you know! Let's just euthanize him!"

At a class reunion, I ended up getting together with my high school crush. However, one evening, as I was scrolling through a social media platform, I was suddenly bombarded with mentions tagging me in a shocking post. The content left me seeing stars. "My girlfriend has a car, a house, a great degree, and she's stunning. Yet, somehow, she's into me! Haha!" "To be honest, she's too exceptional, and it's kind of killing my sense of masculinity. Once I manage to get my hands on her assets, I'll have her give me two kids and then live life on my own terms. She won’t be able to control me then." "You guys can stay jealous. Not like you know her anyway, so what can you even do to me?"

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.

The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the air as the full moon created long shadows across the Ancient Clearing. Tonight, was supposed to be our marking ceremony, a sacred ritual binding Alpha Anderson and his chosen Luna before the eyes of the Frostmoon Pack. “My heart,” his gaze locked on Leah, who stood under the moonlight “has always belonged to another. My first love, the one whose spirit has been weakened by the venom of wolfsbane, is my Luna.” He drew Leah closer, his hand possessively circling her waist. Under the watchful gaze of the moon, he smiled. “Our traditions are clear,” he continued, “Only the woman who stands with me at this altar, witnessed by all, shall be my Luna. Though I had always thought that Irene was my mate which I mistakenly marked a time ago. But thanks to the goddess for making me see clearly before it was too late.” They exchanged vows beneath the trees, witnessed by the werewolves and the Moon Goddess. The silver crowns were placed, the ceremonial kiss sealed their bond. I stood hidden in the shadows of the surrounding forest. For twelve years, from the moment my wolf recognized his at eighteen until my thirtieth moon cycle, my love for Anderson had never changed. But his heart, it was clear, belonged to Leah. If that was the truth, then I would release him. He had never truly seen me, never truly cared. Yet, the act of my departure seemed to unravel him in ways I couldn’t understand.

On Christmas Eve, my parents and my fiancé, Ivano Dominici, finally agree to accompany me to Iberion to see the aurora. But when I arrive there, they never show up no matter how long I wait. I send messages to ask. They reply helplessly that something urgent has come up at the last minute and tell me to go to the observation point and wait. I stand alone on the icy field, turning back every few minutes to look at the road behind me. When my hands grow numb from the cold, I scroll my social media feed and see a recent post from my younger sister, Giada Soave. Holding gifts in her arms, she sits beneath a luxurious crystal Christmas tree with my parents embracing her from both sides. Ivano stands behind her with his hand resting lightly at her waist and his eyes full of tenderness. The caption reads, "Merry Christmas, I'm grateful to spend the holiday with those who love me most!" The comments section buzzes with blessings, praise, and envious messages. I stare at the screen for a long time without moving. This is not the first time they break their promise to me because of Giada. But this time, I do not argue or make a scene. I simply type and send one line calmly in the comments, "I wish your family of four a Merry Christmas." I finally let go of my obsession and stop waiting for people who will never come to me. But when I quietly step away, the ones who cannot let go turn out to be them.

Sasha Barlow receives a call from Aidan Gallagher when she leaves the hospital after getting an abortion. He says, "Get ready. Mr. Conley is coming tonight, so bring five bottles of whiskey and three bottles of red wine." Sasha subconsciously clenches her hand around her phone. "Can I skip tonight?" Aidan pauses. "I know you're angry about yesterday, Sasha. Natalie hit you yesterday, but I reprimanded you instead of helping. "You need to remember that she's my girlfriend, though. She comes from a good family, and her parents have always treated her like a princess. She's bound to be a little willful and spoiled. You're older than her, so cut her some slack."

At a private spa retreat, my husband’s assistant brought me a glass of iced coffee. I was parched and about to drain it when a stream of comments appeared before my eyes. [Drink it, you wicked villainess! The coffee is laced with enough sleeping pills to knock you out. Don’t ruin the leads’ big moment!] [I’m dying. The male lead is sleeping with his sister-in-law right under the villainess’ nose.] [The leads are all over each other in the sauna! This is getting spicy!] Suspicious, I lowered the glass, and the comment stream erupted. [Why isn’t the villainess drinking it?!] Were they calling me the villainess? I glanced toward the sauna, then walked straight over to it. I pulled a floor cushion over, sat down outside the steaming wooden door, and called to a staff member, “Excuse me, could you turn up the heat? I want to sit here and sweat it out.” [What?! No! Our precious leads are going to be cooked alive!]

The night before I was meant to become Luna to my fated mate, Kaelen, I stumbled across a post: "How to steal an Alpha from his fated mate?" The comments blew up. 【You're trying to break up fated mates? They’re chosen by the Moon Goddess herself! That's a sacred bond, a one-in-a-million blessing!】 The comments were full of outrage, but a user named “Baby Wolf” proudly replied: 【If you’re bold enough and know how to play your cards right, even a bond from the Goddess is just a pretty little lie. My Alpha says his fated mate calms him, but in bed, I'm the one he can't get enough of. He says that woman's a dead fish. He was over her ages ago, lol.】 For some reason, my heart clenched. My mind flashed to Kaelen holding me, his voice a low rumble in my ear, "Baby, your scent is the only thing that soothes my wolf." I told myself it was just a coincidence. Until I saw her next post: "Vacation in the Rockies last month. We ran into some rogues and he got his arm shredded protecting me. My hero. " The scarred arm in her picture… I knew it instantly. I knew every single mark. Kaelen had told me he got it breaking up a pack fight. I'd cried my eyes out for him. So my perfect mate was nothing but a low-down, cheating liar. I wiped my tears, my grief turning to ice, and called his mother—the one woman who'd fought our bond from the start. "Kaelen betrayed me. I'm leaving him."