Short Stories & Novels

Orlando and I had been together for ten years. I'd looked after his sick mom, sweating out a fever of my own, and where was he? Knocking back drinks with Rosalind, playing therapist to her broken heart. I swallowed my pride at work, getting chewed out by my boss, while he spent the night companying Rosalind because she had cramps. Then, when I got the news my mom had passed, I tried calling him, desperate for support. But nope—phone off. After a wild goose chase, turns out he was at Rosalind's graduation. That was it. I gave up. But Orlando wouldn't let go. Red-eyed, he begged me for just one more chance.

Philip was rescued from rogue wolves by Nick, who died protecting him. After that, Philip took in Nick's mate, Laila, and their pup, Ray, took care of them like they were his own. For the sake of Laila and Ray, he kept asking me to compromise—again and again. Philip left me alone on our wedding anniversary to celebrate Ray's birthday. He gave Ray my Marking ring to play with, like it was a toy. Even at the annual family gathering, he insisted on bringing them along. The final straw came when he asked me to give something up—again. He wanted me to switch my first-class cruise ship ticket with Laila's economy seat. I felt exhausted. I was done. I was ready to walk away from this five-year marriage.

On Christmas Eve, my father got the man I had secretly loved for ten years drunk and sent him to my bed. When I woke up the next morning, Roy pulled away from my attempt at a good-morning kiss. His voice was cold and distant as he agreed to marry me. After the wedding, Roy wasted no time submitting a transfer request. He took an overseas post and left. He did not return for five years. I gave birth to our daughter, Eve, alone and waited for him to come back home. When I heard that Roy had finally applied to return to a domestic position, I was overjoyed. I spent days preparing, imagining our first reunion as husband and wife. But even when the clock struck midnight, he still hadn't come home. Our daughter, ever so thoughtful, placed her most treasured possession—a photograph of Roy—into my hands. "Don't cry, Mommy," she said softly. "Look, Daddy's right here." I tried to convince myself that his absence was due to a delayed flight. But later that night, while watching the news, I saw him. He was on a crowded city street, holding a young girl in his arms. Beside him stood a woman, her smile soft and warm. Facing the camera, Roy said, "Being with them is my greatest wish." At that moment, something inside me broke. I wrote up the divorce papers, packed our things, and planned to take Eve to change her identity. I didn't want him anymore. The day before we left, a man I had never met came to see me. He was Roy's father. "You could call me Dad," he said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "But I'd rather you call me Ryan." I told him everything about the past five years—how I had waited, how I had hoped. When I finished, he laughed softly, an unusual warmth in his voice. "If it was just business," he said, "perhaps your father should have tied a bow around me and sent me to your bed instead. But I hold my liquor well—if I ever end up wrapped in a bow, you can be sure it's by choice."

My mother-in-law gets into an accident and is taken to the emergency room. I call my attorney husband, but he only answers after over 20 missed calls. "What are you on about this time? Gigi has a bit of a problem, and I'm helping her. Stop being unreasonable." I suppress my grievance and say, "Mom's gotten into an accident. Transfer 100 thousand dollars to me." However, he believes Gigi Norris' lies and snarls, "What does your mother getting into an accident have to do with me? Don't even think of getting money from me to provide for your family. Now, leave me alone. I'm busy!" He hangs up, and my mother-in-law dies. Three days later, I see my husband in court. Gigi has been taken to court for driving under the influence, and he's there to defend her. He speaks eloquently and manages to get her off based on a lack of evidence. I lose hope in him and ask him for a divorce once the court is out of session. That's when he panics. "Think about how well my mother treats you! You'll break her heart by divorcing me!" I sneer. I throw the hospital bill and death certificate in his face. The idiot doesn't even know he no longer has a mother!

I was a violin prodigy. But to pay my mother’s debts, I was forced to give up everything. That’s when I met the man who would own me: Dante Moretti. He was the king of New York's underworld. The Don of the Moretti family. With a single phone call, fortunes were made. With a single glance, blood was spilled. The world didn't just bend to his will—it broke. And on that day… what he wanted was me. He gave me a five-year contract. A penthouse in a skyscraper overlooking all of New York. More jewels and gowns than I could count. Every night he needed me, I’d put on whatever lacy thing he picked out. We’d have sex. Five years. 999 times. There were moments—his sweat dripping on my forehead, his soft breaths inside me, the way he’d look at me—when I let myself dream he loved me. Then the video dropped. Him. On the street. Kissing another woman. I knew the truth. He was my keeper, not my lover. Everyone laughed. They couldn't wait to see me lose my mind, begging him to keep me. Instead, I turned my back on him. And married another man.

I found out I was pregnant in the middle of a fight with my husband. How should I tell him without embarrassing myself too much? I decided to ask the Internet, and the netizens gave me a ton of advice based on their years of experience reading novels. One, run away with your unborn baby. Two, pretend to gag over lunch. Three, put his number into the abortion registration form… When he came to me in a frenzy, I belatedly realized, ‘Crap, I think I went too far!’

On the way to my twin boys' parent-teacher conference, I'm informed that my sons, Ricky and Micky Stallone, have already been taken home by their parents. I'm immediately worried sick about their safety. However, when I look across the road, I suddenly catch sight of a very happy family of four—Ricky, Micky, my husband, Corbin Stallone, and his first love he could never forget, Ingrid Lacelle. Ricky and Micky both run into Ingrid's arms, cozying up to her and calling her "Mommy". Meanwhile, Corbin gently kisses Ingrid's forehead with a doting expression on his face. I join the crowd of envious onlookers, watching the beginning of the end of my marriage.

Ethan and I have been in a mate bond since six years ago. He was the Alpha of our pack. Our twin pups were going to have their fifth birthday, and I wanted to set up a bloodline trust fund for them. However, due to their special positions as the Alpha’s heirs, the trust fund required a blood verification to confirm their lineage. But after the verification, I was shocked to find that our blood couldn’t blend together. It meant I wasn’t the biological mother-wolf of the twin pups. The Inheritance Officer looked at me sympathetically and said, “I’m sorry, but this trust fund can only be established by their biological mother-wolf.” I froze for a moment and said, “There must be some kind of mistake. I can call the midwife wolf who helped me deliver them to testify. I am their mother-wolf!” “As you can see, your blood isn’t merging with theirs, but their blood is merging with the Alpha’s. So these twin pups are indeed the Alpha’s. You’re not their biological mother-wolf. Let me see… Here, their biological mother-wolf should be Helena Grayback. I’m sorry. They have nothing to do with you.” Helena? I felt completely shocked. My mind went blank. I hadn’t heard that name in a long time. She was Ethan’s first love. Helena was from a pack that had a longstanding hatred for ours. They couldn’t be together back then, but now, it turned out that the twin pups I had struggled to carry and give birth to were actually Ethan and Helena’s.

My fiancé dumped me the moment he found out about my rare blood type. "That condition of yours? Yeah, it'd just drain my wallet." I was spiraling when Vincent showed up—like some knight in shining armor, pulling me out of the wreckage. He didn't care about my blood type. We barely dated before he proposed, and for a while, married life felt perfect. Until a year later, when I overheard him talking to a doctor. "Vincent, you already took 400 milliliters of Sophia's blood last month, and now you want another 200? Are you insane? Even if you love Emma, you can't just drain an innocent woman dry for her!" "A little more won't kill her. Stop overreacting." My head spun. My whole body went cold. That's when it hit me—our perfect marriage had been a lie from the start.

Ken spent a fortune on our wedding. But on our wedding night, he left me to take care of his crush, Jenny Johnson, who was struggling with severe depression. I grabbed a chainsaw, took down her door, and demanded a divorce. Jenny's eyes were swollen from crying. "I'll leave Ken alone, back to you. My life isn't as important as your happiness—" Ken, distressed beyond words, warned me, "Mayson White, listen to me. If Jenny ends up taking her own life because of you, you'll pay with yours." Later, he caught me cheating with his best friend. With red eyes, he pleaded, "Mayson, break up with him. I can pretend none of this happened. Let's just be together." "No way," I said. "He'll threaten to end his life if he never sees me. You're such a good guy and wouldn't want to force him to go through with it, would you?"

I’m the Vettori family princess. The only one. It was our fifth anniversary. A big dinner party at the estate. A waiter spilled red wine on my husband Marco, heir to the Rossi family. My best friend, Sofia, slapped the waiter. Hard. Then she was all over Marco, helping him out of his jacket. Her hand lingered on his waist. A second too long. I just stood there, watching. Sofia saw me. "I was just closer, that's all. Helping him clean up. Don't overthink it." I just smiled. Grabbed my glass. I went to make the rounds with the old dons from the other families. I would finish this night with my head held high. Later that night, Marco crawled into my bed, stinking of booze. His hands were on my waist. He wanted sex. I pushed him off. "The alliance is over," I said, my voice dead. "We're finished." Marco sobered up fast. His face went cold. "I'm trying to apologize here. You're divorcing me because Sofia helped me with my jacket?" I laughed. He didn’t get it. Not until I threw the proof of his betrayal in his face. Not until I cut him off from my family. Then he was on his knees, crying, begging me to forgive him.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I discovered I was two months pregnant. I wanted to surprise Owen Reed with the news. However, on my way home with the gift-wrapped ultrasound report, I got caught in a street shootout. A stray bullet tore into my abdomen. Right as I collapsed on the pavement, writhing in pain, Owen appeared out of nowhere. He had told me he was away on business and would not be home until evening, but here he was, frantically shoving through the crowd. He ran right past me and toward a woman up ahead. "I'm sorry I'm late. Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to you." His voice was soft, gentler than I had ever heard it. He swept her up in his arms and disappeared down the street, surrounded by bodyguards. He never saw me. I was barely three feet away, bleeding out on the ground. When I woke up in the hospital, my baby was gone. That was when I knew I was done with this marriage.

I had been married to Alexander for three years. Everyone feared his ruthlessness, but he had always been incredibly gentle with me. But ever since Elena took a bullet for him during a shootout six months ago, everything changed. He always said she got hurt saving him, so I had to be accommodating. At the family’s most prestigious gala, my husband—the Don, Alexander—arrived with his secretary, Elena, on his arm. Pinned to her chest was the ruby brooch that symbolized the position of the Donna of the family. "Elena took a bullet for me. She liked the brooch, so I let her borrow it for a while. Regardless, you are the only donna here. Try to show some class." I didn't argue with him. I just removed my wedding ring and pulled out the divorce papers: "Since she likes it so much, she can have it. Including this seat next to you. I'm giving that up, too." Alexander signed without hesitation, a cold smile on his face. "What kind of manipulative trick are you playing now? You're an orphan, separated from your family, you won't survive three days in Sicily. I'll wait for you to come back begging me." I took out an encrypted satellite phone I hadn't used in three years. Alexander didn't know that I was actually the youngest daughter of the oldest Mafia family in Europe. But my family and Alexander’s had always been enemies. To marry him, I had changed my name and even severed ties with my father and brothers. The call connected. I took a deep breath and whispered, "Papa, I regret it. Send someone to pick me up in two weeks."

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America. That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything. Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth. A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests. 23:59:59 23:59:58 He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close. "Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

It's my seventh anniversary with Chase McGregor. I hide in his car's trunk while holding a pregnancy report. In my other hand, I hold a limited-edition watch that I've prepared for him. I want to surprise him and tell him we're about to have a child. To my surprise, I hear something that devastates me. "Chase, you're not really going to marry Daphne, are you? Lucille Gervais wants to marry you. As long as you do that, the North Sea's shipping routes, cargo operations, and drug trade will come under your control." "Help me set up a date with her. I'll break up with Daphne." My breathing hitches. I want to hear Chase object to this or show even the slightest bit of hesitation, but none of it comes. The pregnancy report slips from my fingers. I once thought he would be the father of my children; I thought we would have a happy family together. Now, my dream has been shattered.

Jethro Miles was an orphan sponsored by my dad. The moment I laid eyes on him, I flipped. Despite my family's objections, we dated for seven years, even as my dad threatened to disown me. Eventually, my dad relented and consented to our marriage. But as we exchanged rings, a young woman in a white dress burst into the venue, staring at Jethro with tears in her eyes. He chased after her, abandoning our wedding. Later, I learned that the woman was his childhood friend from the orphanage. Jethro desperately tried to explain, "Nancy grew up with me. She is like a sister to me. She's been through abuse and divorce. Please, give me time to help her, okay?" Tears blurred my vision as I watched him plead so fervently, my heart plummeting into despair. I managed, "Okay." Jethro took care of Nancy and her son as if they were his real family. What he didn't know were the two secrets I'd kept from him when my dad finally agreed to our marriage: I was pregnant, and I was dying.

Leo Carter and I are childhood sweethearts. I once took a knife for him when the Rogue King tried to assassinate him. Since then, he's treated me like his treasure. He's sworn to love only me for life. On the day I turn 18, we become fated mates with the Moon Goddess as a witness. I say to him, "I'll leave you forever if you ever betray me, Alpha Leo." He holds me tightly as tears fill his eyes. He tells me he'll never let something like that happen. After we marry, he drives away all the women in his life. He even expels a beautiful she-wolf from the pack when she confesses her love for him. That's not all. He builds the Wolf Tribe's largest amusement park for me as a symbol of our love. However, I find a vibration device in his car when I'm three months pregnant. It kills me inside. I ingest a potion I bought from a witch and forcibly break my mate bond with Leo. Then, I disappear from his world.

My whole family only ever loved my younger sister, Carrie Brooks. Carrie had a crush on my fiancé, Josh Beaumont. On my wedding day, my mother pressed a knife to her throat, forcing me to give Josh to Carrie. "The fortune teller said Carrie's illness will get better if she gets married," Mom pleaded. "You're healthy. You'll find someone else." My brother, Nick Jansen chimed in. "Grace, don't be so selfish. Hurry up and take off the dress. Carrie's thinner than you. Make sure you don't stretch it out." Even Josh said, "Carrie doesn't have much time left. But Grace… we still have our whole lives ahead of us." They didn't know. The one who was truly dying… was me.

Everyone in our circle knew I had always been obsessed with Daniel Rothman. I followed whatever he did—went to school, learnt eight different languages, studied finance. After all, the Rothmans and Fosters were destined to merge through marriage—our intertwined business empires depended on it. However, on our wedding day, Daniel flew overseas to rescue his crush in distress. Our childhood bond, once the envy of everyone, became the biggest joke of all. There I was, wearing a wedding dress worth millions, standing alone as I completed the grand ceremony by myself. The headlines were everywhere. For the first time, my name came before his in the news. How foolish. Men were a dime a dozen. But there was only one well-established business empire. I did not just want his body. I wanted his money, too.

I was trapped in a sea filled with icebergs, clinging to life alongside Elsa —the sweetheart of my mate, Alpha Luke, and her son. After a long hesitation, Luke chose to save me, the one carrying his unborn twins. After he brought me to shore, there wasn’t enough time for him to go back for Elsa. All he could do was watch her drift away, swallowed by the freezing waves, until she disappeared from sight. He never forgave me for it. He said I delayed him—that if not for me, he could have saved her. For five long years, he hated me. He wouldn't even let my twin pups call him “father.” Then came the day the witch brewed a time machine that could turn back time. Luke gave up everything—his title, his pride, even his sons—just for the chance to go back. “Aria,” he said before leaving, “did you really think I saved you because I cared? If I hadn’t saved you first, the whole pack would’ve blamed Elsa. That’s the only reason.” After he was gone, his mother looked at me with eyes full of disdain. “This is all your fault,” she said. “If Luke had saved Elsa first, he might’ve been happy now.” Even my own children resented me. “You're the reason Father hates us,” they said. “You're the one who killed Elsa. Why couldn’t it have been you who died that day?” Despised by everyone, I drank the potion without a second thought. This time, I would go back. This time, I would save myself. And I would owe Luke nothing.