Family Regret Novels & Stories

"We did not grow up together. We do not have shared childhood memories. But we have tried. Every single day we have tried to be your family. To make up for the twenty-five years you lost." Cora felt tears starting. "I know you have." "Do you?" Ethan asked. "Because it does not sound like you know that. It sounds like you think we are strangers. Like the past three months meant nothing." "That is not what I meant," Cora said. Her anger was dissolving now. Being replaced by regret. "I was just—" "You were just telling me the truth," Ethan said. "And the truth is you do not see us as real family. We are just people who happen to be related to you."

The good life she'd been living these past few years was nothing but a fleeting dream. Now, she came to me, begging for forgiveness. "Willow, we're family. You can't just watch me end up on the street." I let out a cold laugh. "We were never family." As for John, the Webb family sent him overseas. We never spoke again.

I looked at my father and explained, “Grandpa has been very kind to me these past three years. We didn’t tell him about the divorce back then, so he’s a bit upset now.” “It’s understandable how an elderly person might feel,” Mom reflected. “We won’t be joining you this afternoon. After all, you’re divorced now, and your respective elders haven’t met before. Meeting for the first time after the divorce would be awkward. Can you manage on your own?” “I’ll be fine. Mom and Dad, just rest at the hotel.” Dad added, “We need to head back to California tonight. Peter and Miley’s ashes have already been sent back. We also need to return to the main family in California to pay respects to your great-

Mom froze and gently patted my shoulder. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could you not need them? Sure, Jonathan is wealthy, but you can't look down on the Lane family's assets!" I stared at my anxious parents in a daze. Never in my life had they shown me such concern. Just because my birth had taken time and caused Adriana to be born weak, I owed her my entire life. During our birthdays when we were still kids, Mom and Dad would surround her in the middle, singing her a birthday song. Only after they put her to sleep would they remember to wish me a happy birthday.

"I thought you'd be angry, defensive. Not..." "Not what," Amelia said, wiping at her eyes. "Not this," Damian said. "Whatever this is. Grief for someone else's pain instead of your own." "She's my family," Amelia said simply. "Not by blood. But she's stood beside me through everything this month, and now I find out my own grandfather hurt her family fifty years before either of us existed. That's not something I can separate from my own guilt, Damian. That's not something that gets easier just because it happened a long time ago."

She hadn’t gotten any part of the inheritance. Edward leaned back, looking tired now but satisfied. “That’s it. Mr. Graves has all the legal documents. Fight it if you want, but you’ll lose. I made sure of that. One last thing — Sophie.” His eyes softened again. “You’ve been dealt a bad hand in this family. I’m sorry for my part in that. Be brave, girl. You always were stronger than we gave you credit for.” The video ended. The screen went black. For three full seconds, nobody moved. Then Derek exploded out of his seat, the chair scraping violently behind him.

"Slowly, and on your own terms. No pressure, no expectations. Just an open door." Isabela's guarded expression cracked slightly, something hopeful breaking through despite herself. "I'd like that. If it's really okay." "It's more than okay," Camila said, leaning forward with a warm, knowing smile. "Trust me. I know exactly what it feels like to find this family later than you should have. It gets easier. Especially once you realize how many of us there apparently are." The table broke into surprised, exhausted laughter, the particular kind reserved for families who'd learned, the hard way, that grief and complication and love could all tangle together into something that somehow, impossibly,

I've known all along that my husband, Hector Greene, has been seeing another woman. However, for the past two years, even after going through all of his financial records and looking into all the women he might've come into contact with, I haven't been able to find out who she is. My parents accuse me of being paranoid. My younger brother says I'm not worthy of Hector. Only my older sister, Giselle Lloyd, repeatedly defends me. "Evelina is my sister! I won't let you guys force her to put up with this!" Ever since we were kids, Giselle has been the one who gets everything the family has to give. None of the new outfits, the chance to study abroad, or even the shares Grandpa left behind ha

explained Marla at length. It can be seen from Marla’s feelings that she is still angry with her parents to this day. She once thought that when she saw their parents, she would scold them. Like Amanda, she was also affected by what their parents did. What sane parent would give their child away for debt and personal interest, none other than their parents? For the rest of her life, Marla will feel her anger towards her parents and for the rest of her life, Amanda will feel regret for what happened to their family.

I only referred to the adoption paperwork at this point, not the fact that she'd brought her boyfriend home to witness it. "We're your family. I assumed it would make you happy to know you still had one after your mom..." "My mom's been dead a handful of months. Her casket hasn't even had time to settle into the ground." I waved my arms at my side to accentuate each sentence. The only time I talked with my hands was when words nearly failed me, and right now, they flailed like wings I wished would carry me away. "Yet, somehow, the three of you believed I'd just write her off? Sign on the dotted line to become a Shaw and drop Thomas? Relinquish my lineage and forget about my past just because