Plot Twists Short Stories & Unattainable Love Contract Marriage Novels

Everyone thinks I agreed to marry Wendy Quinton out of gratitude and to fulfill her grandfather's dying wish. Little did they know, the real reason I gave in was that her features resembled my first love, Zara Langston. Despite knowing that Wendy is hopelessly in love with Zachary Shaw, the man who killed her father, I still chose to have faith in her. But my foolish hope vanishes when I catch them tangled up in bed again in our marital home. With half of her clothes undone, Wendy leans against Zachary's chest, smiling shamelessly. "You should know your place. I've already done you a huge favor by not taking things all the way with him." This isn't the first time. Zachary has already claimed every inch of her body over and over again. Gripping her waist, Zachary chuckles. "Once the two of you are married, we'll finally be able to take things all the way. I can't wait." They think I'm a fool who will put up with anything. But unbeknownst to them, I have already uncovered the truth. Wendy's grandfather, Edward Quinton, didn't suddenly fall gravely ill. Zachary was the one who left him in a vegetative state. Then, a week ago, he pulled the plug on Edward's ventilator and killed him. I don't make a scene. Instead, I simply slip my wedding ring onto Zachary's ring finger. "In that case, I wish you two a lifetime of happiness together." I'm done lying to myself and playing along with their little charade.

After my sister died, my parents forced me into a ten-year contract with my Alpha brother-in-law, Ethan Brooks. I became Luna in name only—and stepmother to his ten-year-old son, Daniel. At the Full Moon Festival, they placed on me my dead sister’s crown—her favorite. And in front of the entire pack, Daniel splashed holy water across my face, that cold smirk a mirror of his father’s. "Don’t think becoming Luna means you can replace my mother! You’re just a thief! What gives you the right to host our festival? You should strip naked and get out of me and Dad’s pack!" The holy water was ice-cold. And staring at the child I’d raised for ten years, all I felt was… relief. Fine. The agreement’s over—I’m leaving. But then why, after I walked away, are both Ethan and Daniel suddenly begging me to return?

The wedding had reached the part where we were supposed to exchange rings, but my fiance wouldn’t say those two simple words: "I do." It was because his past love had just announced her breakup an hour ago. The post on social media included a picture of a plane ticket, the landing time just one hour away. My brother suddenly stepped forward and announced to everyone that the wedding would be delayed. Without a word, they both left me standing there, turning me into a laughingstock. I calmly dealt with everything, glancing at the new social media post from his past love. In the photo, my brother and fiance were standing around her, offering her the best of everything. I laughed bitterly and dialed my parents' number. "Dad, Mom, I'm willing to come home and marry into the Sanford family."

I was a two-hundred-pound girl. But on the night of graduation, I slept with Nova, captain of the Ashbury Ravens hockey team. The next morning, laughter drifted down the hotel hallway from his teammates. "Nova slipped his room key to Sienna last night, right?" "What, you think he'd give it to the Zamboni? That tub of lard. One look at her gives you nightmares for three days." "Did you guys see her reporter's notebook? It's covered in Nova's name. She's actually got a crush on Nova. Disgusting." So the room key that had slipped into my notebook wasn't meant for me. And the name he murmured against me in the dark wasn't mine either. My eyes burned with humiliation. I got dressed, walked out alone, and disappeared for six years. Six years later, my mother, Diane Quinn, was three months behind on her dialysis bills, and the sports website I worked for was on its last legs. My editor, Claire Bennett, slapped a file on my desk. "Nova. Newly crowned MVP. Not one interview in six years. Land him, or you're out."

My marriage to Tommaso Volpe, Don of the Volpe family, is part of a five-year contract. We each have someone we love, and we stay out of each other's way. He loves his adopted sister, Gelsomina Volpe, who needs his protection. My heart belongs only to my deceased fiancé, Marco Damiano. For five years, I play the perfect Signora Volpe, enduring Gelsomina's provocations and cruelty again and again. She forces caustic substances down my throat that nearly destroy my esophagus. He tells me to let it go for his sake. She stages her own kidnapping and forces Tommaso to choose between saving her and me. He doesn't hesitate, choosing to save her while I sink to the bottom of that freezing lake. On the last day of our contract, I calmly pack my things and leave the signed divorce papers behind. I need to find a young man who looks just like Marco. He's all I have left to hold onto. But after I leave, Tommaso loses his mind searching for me, saying he's fallen in love with me. He threatens me with the entire city's underworld just to stay by my side. He watches me grow close to my new "replacement" and goes mad with jealousy. He thinks he still has a chance, but he has already lost this game from the very beginning.