And Then There Were 10 Novels & Stories

"We're only thinking about Abend Group's future. Daisy really likes your bedroom, so why don't you let her have it? Once she gives birth, she'll return it to you. "I gave you the title of my wife, so I need to compensate Daisy in other ways. I promised her I'd repay her ten times over," Edward continued, trying to persuade me, but I couldn't listen any longer. His words made me nauseous. "Edward, how did we end up like this? There was a time when we truly loved each other. We vowed to love only one another for a lifetime in that chapel." He hadn't expected me to say that. He was stunned, as if recalling the happy moments we had once shared.

"I'm glad he's dead. He had it coming. He deserved it!" The call ended. Seraphine was expressionless as if it didn't concern her at all. Lowering her head, she tidied up the stuff in her bag. Having overheard part of the conversation, Seraphine's assistant said carefully, "It's been a decade, Seraphine. Many things could've happened in those years. I guess that's the way life goes. My condolences." Seraphine didn't say a word, and her expression was blank. She simply stood where she was, watching Rose wail and sob through the glass window of the ward.

"Your wife? You won't divorce her? Do you know how ridiculous you sound, Chester Ford? When in the past 10 years have you ever treated her as your wife? What have you done for her besides humiliate her? "Now that Luna's gone, she's lost the one thing tying her down. Do you still intend to chain her down with such things? You're completely delusional, Chester Ford!"

And the marriage registration still wasn't happening. I shook my head. "No. I don't love you anymore. After seven years, whatever love I had for you has been worn down to nothing."

This was just the beginning. The End.

, a faraway look in his eyes as he tries to remember. "I was ten when I stumbled across the favor being asked by my father from this strange tattooed guy who was unlike my father's usual clients. I was curious as to what was going on and hid behind the door of my father's office, peering around the edge. But I did not hear much except for something about death", he pauses to rub his forehead in frustration.

“I want to go.” He narrowed his eyes on me before clenching his jaw tightly. “Alright, you ten will be first,” he said, gesturing to me and nine others. “You make a kill and bring it back here. If you don’t bring it back here, it won’t count toward your kills. And there will be no stealing from each other or hurting each other in the forest. On your marks, get set, and GO!”

Sophia suddenly ran in front of me, blocking my way. "Alex! Stop talking like that! I know you must’ve been furious when I left without a word, but I’m back now! Stop saying things you don’t mean." Empty words? Things I don’t mean? What made her think that? I thought I had made myself perfectly clear. She suddenly reached for the pendant around my neck, yanking it out from under my shirt. "This... this is the charm I gave you when we first got together. It’s been over a decade. The cord is already worn out, yet you still wear it..."

I was safe, but our pup could not be saved. Before leaving, they placed a body that resembled me to stage my death. Then, they carried me onto the helicopter and disappeared into the night. ... I woke to a familiar ceiling, the one I'd grown up under, yet it felt like a stranger's place. I was back at the Dark Moon pack. My hand flew to my flat belly. The tiny flutter of life that had once been there was gone. My pup... was gone. Tears leaked sideways into the pillow. "I'm sorry," I murmured. "I'm so sorry..."

Now, they only bore the marks of holding a pen. I could barely even remember that I'd once been so alive as well. The past ten years had changed me after all. Just like how my skin had turned pale, the calm composure I'd learned when grappling with life and death had carved itself into my bones. At the end of the day, I was human, not a machine. I couldn't just delete ten years of memories on command. Luckily, after all my wandering, I'd finally come back to where I started. I dialed the internal line. "Knox, let's get married."