A House With Good Bones Novels & Stories

"I've thought about it. Please draft up a divorce agreement for me, Mr. Chastain," Carina Sherwood says to her divorce attorney, Leo Chastain. It's her fifth wedding anniversary with Aster Ducant, but Carina spends it at the lawyer's office instead because Aster is busy having fun with his secretary, Stella Winters, at home. Carina is his wife, but she ends up being the one chased out of the house. They have been married for five years, but Aster hasn't announced their marriage to the people at the company. At first, Carina thinks of bringing it up to him. However, it just takes a few sentences from Aster for her to know that there's no need for that anymore. "Stella's home alone, and the electricity at her place just went out. She has nowhere else to go. I'm asking her to come over for dinner. You're fine with that, aren't you?" The best way Carina can think of to end the last five years of their relationship is through divorce.

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.

Five years ago, Vincent Hale married the wrong woman. His heart belonged to Cassia until she vanished on their wedding day, leaving her quiet adopted sister, Nyelle, to take her place as his unwanted bride. For five years, Nyelle loved a husband who never truly saw her, clinging to a marriage built on obligation while enduring his cold indifference. But cancer, betrayal, and a cruel request for divorce finally force her to accept the truth: Vincent will never choose her. So she chooses herself—and revenge. Determined to make the man who broke her pay, Nyelle secretly becomes the mysterious woman who begins blackmailing him from the shadows. Unaware that the woman consuming his thoughts is the wife he has spent years ignoring, Vincent finds himself drawn to her voice, captivated by her touch, and hopelessly addicted to the connection between them. By the time he realizes the woman he can't live without has been beside him all along, Nyelle is already preparing to say goodbye.

I had been in a relationship with Harry Chalamet for ten years. He stood up for me and even ended up in the hospital after a fight. He financially supported me in my education by laboring on construction sites. Even my friends could tell that he was madly in love with me, and I believed it too. Just when we were about to get married, I noticed he often secretly stared blankly at a photo. But the person in that photo wasn’t me…

Everyone in Astora is envious of Serafina Greco. She has a husband who loves her with all his heart. They throw a luxurious wedding that's worth 470 million dollars in total. In fact, she and her equally wealthy older brother, Niccolo Greco, will be having their weddings on the very same day. That woman is practically a natural-born winner in life. But just as Serafina's husband, Alessandro Madonia, is about to be made the next Don of the family, she decides to file for a divorce. The lawyer sounds very shocked. "Are you sure you want to get a divorce from Alessandro?" Serafina falls silent for a moment. Then, she nods in determination. The moment she finds out that Alessandro, her perfect husband, is lying on the same bed as her sister-in-law, Matilde Denaro, on their wedding night, she has already made up her mind. "Yes."

My name was Natalia Granger. My husband, Andrew Lane, was a CEO, but he didn't love me or our son, Carl Lane. In order to spend time with his first love, Jennifer Zink, and her child, Jordan, Andrew would give one piece of candy to Carl before leaving. He promised he would return once Carl collected 100 candy wrappers. … Yet, when Carl finally gathered 100 candy wrappers, Andrew dumped him by the side of a highway instead. It was all because of another child's birthday party. Panicking, I searched everywhere for Carl. By the time I found him, he had become mute due to the trauma. However, Andrew only commented flippantly, "Jenny and Jordan didn't mean it. Can't you two be more magnanimous?" Eventually, Carl no longer became sad when Andrew left, nor did he hold out hope for Andrew's return. Instead, he simply wanted to return the candy wrappers to Andrew while also leaving a note that read, "Daddy, I don't want you to come back anymore, but could you return my voice to me?"

Katelyn cannot let go of her past, which has caused her trauma and fear of men. She is unable to get into a normal relationship due to her mother's engraved words that she should not trust men since they are wolves in sheep's clothing. Her father abandoned them to marry another woman, causing their family to collapse and, especially, to believe her mother's words. Until she grows up and experiences a strange dream, in that dream, a man always visits her every night and helps her overcome her fears. A man she didn't know made her feel a peculiar thrill she'd never had as a woman. What if she somehow learns the man in her dream is actually someone she knows? What if she discovers his true intentions for her? Can she learn to accept it? Can she learn how to love that man? Or will she escape the beautiful dream it brings?

He called her boring. He said their marriage was a mistake. Then he left her bleeding, heartbroken... and pregnant. Lily devoted seven years of her life to a man who only saw her as a convenience. When her husband, Alex, demanded a divorce, she begged him to stay only to discover he'd already proposed to his ex… and planned it all behind her back. But betrayal wasn’t the end, it was just the beginning. Left for dead, humiliated, and crushed by the ultimate heartbreak, Lily had nothing, until a billionaire stranger offered her a deal: a contract marriage, a new identity, and a chance to make the man who shattered her beg on his knees. She accepted. Now, Lily is no longer the soft-spoken housewife he threw away, she's the storm he never saw coming. Beautiful. Untouchable. Dangerous. And Alex? He’s about to learn that the woman he underestimated is now the one who holds all the power. He broke her soul. Now she’s coming for him…

I gave up everything to become a housewife—all for Tristan Fowler and our daughter. But ever since his first love got divorced, everything has changed. Tristan despises me, and my daughter orders me around like a maid. Crushed, I sign the divorce papers, give up everything, and leave for a faraway place. So why are they the ones now full of regret?

For three years, Selene loved a man who never loved her back. Her marriage to Damien vance was built on obligation, not affection. He married her to fulfill his grandmother's wish, but his heart had always belonged to someone else. Still, Selene endured the coldness, the distance, and the loneliness, hoping that one day her love would be enough. Then, everything changes. On the happiest day of her life, Selene discovers she is pregnant after years of trying. Overjoyed, she rushes home to share the news with her husband, convinced that this miracle might finally bring them closer together. Instead, she walks into a nightmare. Damien's first love, Aurora, has returned. The woman he never stopped loving is suddenly back, and Selene finds herself pushed aside as though she never mattered. Before she can reveal her pregnancy, Damien hands her divorce papers and asks her to leave. Heartbroken and carrying a secret that could change everything, Selene signs the papers and disappears from his life. But some goodbyes are not as final as they seem. As Damien begins building a future with the woman he thought he wanted, he slowly realizes that the person he truly depended on is gone. The wife he overlooked, the woman who stood by him through everything, has vanished without a trace. And when long-buried secrets begin to surface, Damien is forced to confront a devastating truth that comes far too late. Now, the man who once let her go will stop at nothing to find her. But after everything he has done, will Selene ever give him a second chance? Or will the goodbye he demanded become the regret he carries for the rest of his life?