Unattainable Love Countdown Short Stories & Novels

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.

On my fifth wedding anniversary, I find an old phone inside Jayden Luther's safe. The password is his first love's birthday. The phone has records of all their sweet moments in the past. In contrast, he doesn't even have a single photo of me in his current phone gallery. "Shirley Lovell, don't you know it's rude to invade someone else's privacy by peeking?" I turn to look at the man standing outside the door. I don't scream or throw a tantrum. Calmly, I say, "Let's get a divorce." Jayden reformats his phone on the spot. His expression was so indifferent that I can't quite discern any emotion. "Are you happy now? Are we still getting a divorce?" he asks. I nod seriously. "Yes."

Three nights before my wedding, I called my fiancé, Garrett. A version of him from five years in the future answered. I couldn't keep the happiness out of my voice. "Are we happy together? Has your mother finally accepted me?" A long silence hung on the other end before a low, tipsy chuckle came through. The laugh was faint, the kind you'd use to humor a naive child. "Vivi, in the last five years, you've asked me for a divorce more times than I can count." I froze. "...What do you mean?" "It means you found out about me and Kiera." My breath caught. I couldn't believe it. "My sister? I thought you couldn't stand her." He let out a quiet sigh. "Vivi, saying I couldn't stand her was just my way of hiding how I really felt." "Don't worry, I won't divorce you. We made our vows at the altar, after all." A chill ran through me. I wanted to press further, but a lazy little giggle drifted through from the other end. "Garrett, who is it?" He murmured something in response and hung up. A second later, a message from Garrett popped up on my phone. [Vivi, our wedding is almost here. You're happy, right?] [I'll be good to you for the rest of my life. If I ever break that promise, I don't deserve to live.]

Everyone in New York knew my name—Bella Moreau. I was the one person Theo Romano, the city's most feared mob boss, would kill to protect. Anyone who defied me or so much as looked at me the wrong way never escaped his wrath. But when his first love, Eve Laurent, returned, he turned me into a tool to please her, showering her with all the affection that had once been mine. Eve casually claimed I'd slapped her. The very next day, an assassin came after me, leaving me with two broken ribs. Eve claimed I'd smashed the jewelry Theo had bought her. The next day, I was kidnapped, stripped naked, and humiliated. Eve accused me of pushing her down the stairs and breaking her leg. Theo threw me into the basement and left me there for three days without a single drop of water. Day after day, he watched me grow quieter. I stopped arguing with him and making a scene. He thought he'd finally broken me, sanding away every rough edge until I became the obedient, understanding wife he'd always wanted. What he didn't know was that today was the 1,826th day we'd been together. Our secret marriage agreement would expire today. At last, I was finally free.

On my birthday, I was busy making preparations. I decorated my house and made dinner. Then, I waited until all the dishes went cold. That was when I received a text message from Zac Hilton: I’m on a business trip. Don’t wait for me. You should go to bed first. Then, I saw his girl best friend, Faye Smith, posted a social media post. In the photo, Zac had his sleeves rolled up. He wore an apron as he was making dinner in the kitchen. She added the caption: I hope this moment will last forever. I suddenly became vapid. I liked her post and reheated my dinner before eating. Throughout dinner, my phone kept ringing, but I ignored it. I only picked up my phone after I finished the meal. There were a dozen missed calls from Zac. Finally, he sent a voice message to me. [Piper, I’ll explain to you when I return. Don’t overthink it. There are so many future birthdays that we can spend together.] I did not reply to him. I had only one thought to myself. “Will there be a future for us?”

My mother, Elena, was a System host. After completing her mission, she left this world, leaving me in the care of my four adoptive fathers in the mafia. Dad Theodore was the cold-blooded Don of the Family, the man who ruled this city's underworld. Dad Harrison was a movie star, the darling of the red carpet. Dad Gabriel was a top surgeon in the underground medical network; his hands could save a life as easily as they could take one. And Dad Zane was a ruthless mercenary leader. For sixteen years, these four fathers spoiled me like the Family's one and only princess. If I wanted the moon, they would have found a way to pluck it from the sky. That was, until three years ago, when Zoe, the daughter of their first love, was brought back from Sicily. From that day on, my four fathers believed only her, never me. Zoe framed me, claiming I'd mocked her for looking like a street rat, so my fathers kicked me out of the princess suite and threw me into a storage room by the garage. Zoe showed them fake bruises on her arms, so my adoptive fathers smashed my phone, cut off all my social connections, and put me under house arrest for three months. Zoe cried again, claiming I'd hired thugs to harass her, so Dad Zane dragged me straight to the Family's dungeon beneath the estate. They starved me for three days and three nights, saying it was to teach me "some manners." I leaned against the dark, damp wall, my vision fading to black in waves. Just as I was about to pass out, I heard someone call my name. "Hazel, do you want to go to your mother?"

I was the treaty bride carefully chosen by Silvermoon pack and sent to Shadowridge pack. My presence there guaranteed ten years of peace between the two packs. All because I looked a little like the woman who had saved Theron, the Alpha of Shadowridge. For 1007 nights, Theron left bite marks all over my body, but the one mark reserved for a Luna never appeared. I begged him to let me go. He gripped my chin and laughed. "You're a stand-in. What makes you think you have the right to beg me?" After that, I was trapped in Shadowridge. Not his Luna, not his mate, just a shadow he could forget whenever he pleased. Three years later, the woman who had supposedly saved him returned from the dead: Celine. He announced to the pack that he would take her as his mate. Whatever hope I had left died. That same night, I found the man whose life I had once saved. "Help me fake my death. On the night of the eclipse, I want to die in front of Theron."

I am the envy of every girl at Belmont Academy. The boys I grew up with—Brooks, Carter, and Harrison—have treated me like royalty since we were kids, spoiling me completely. No matter what I wanted, even if it was a lot of trouble, they always handed it to me on a silver platter. When I casually complained that prom was boring, they rented out an entire yacht for me. When my legs were sore after cheer practice and I didn't want to walk, they gave me piggyback rides across the football field. I was their princess. I was the one they pampered and spoiled, the one they adored. Naturally, I loved them just as much. I naively thought my senior prom date would simply be one of them. Until a transfer student named Nova arrived. Her beauty was striking and undeniable. During her first week, she boldly announced that she would become the center of attention on campus, stealing the spotlight from all the popular kids—especially me. Gradually, Brooks started to find me too whiny. One day during a heavy downpour, he left me alone by the field to hold an umbrella for Nova. The other two stood up for me. "Brooks, you chose this! Don't regret it later!" But not long after, Carter gravitated toward Nova as well. When Nova told the other girls to dump trash into my locker and I got angry, Carter just thought I was making a fuss over nothing. At Homecoming, I looked at Harrison, the only one left, and tears pricked my eyes. "Harrison, tell me, am I the one in the wrong?" He ruffled my hair. "Don't overthink it. They're just stupid. They don't know how to appreciate you." But later, I saw him rig the Homecoming Queen vote. He gave Nova the crown that was supposed to be mine. Just to earn a smile from her. With red eyes, I knocked on the door of my brother's downtown office. "Oliver, about that wildlife conservation project in Arca. I want to leave in three days."