I Chose Novels & Stories

The journey wasn't easy and yet I couldn't help but think as I looked at his pewter eyes. I'm glad I chose us. THE END

Tessa’s POV: All my life I’ve lived by someone else’s rule, been someone else’s prisoner, and lived a life I didn’t choose. Not anymore. Today I chose to have a choice, and in doing so, I chose me. I waited for a little while to ensure everyone must have gathered at the garden. But, secretly, to gather strength for the unknown path that lay before me.

The back corner table, bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sun, was my sanctuary. Close to the window, it offered a panoramic view of the school grounds, a silent observer of the drama unfolding below. A convenient lie, a flimsy excuse to mask my desire for solitude. "I just love the seat because it's close to the window and I could see everything going on from there," I said, forcing a casual tone.

Wasn't that a bit too late? "I don't need his apology. And honestly, I doubt Kevin will even apologize," I said, turning my back to him and walking toward the VIP lounge.

This woman looked hopeless, depressed, and tormented. "I ever wanted only one thing from my life. To be my man's first and only choice. So yes, it did hurt me when I learned I am not his first choice" Serena replied, for the first time admitting that she was indeed hurt because he didn't choose her first. Does she not deserve to be a first choice too?

She shook her head as she strolled around; scanning the pistol in her grip, she continued; "You took everything away from me, Angela; Right from our days in the university it has always been you." She took one step at a time towards the window gazing at the cloudy sky. Her eyelids blinked repeatedly, her jaws vibrated as she tried fighting the pool of tears in her eyes. "When I wanted to be SUG secretary, you were chosen over me, when I wanted to be the choir leader in our fellowship, you were the one they all chose; and now, the one man my heart beats for still chose you over me."

"We'll have lots of children, I promise. I swear I'll never let you down again!" But that hand—the one that once gave me warmth and courage—felt cold now, utterly empty. I pulled my hand back slowly but firmly. My voice, though soft, carried a quiet grief. "Jason, you know… after college, I actually wanted to leave this city. I planned to go back home and be with my parents. But then, after a blind date I didn't even take seriously, I chose to stay. For you." Jason just sat there, stunned. Something wet landed on the back of my hand, but it could no longer nourish the dried-out soil of my heart.

I paused for a moment, not wanting to cry that day of all days. "Compared to everything that I was forced to endure, I think that the place that I'm aiming for is a wonderful place. At the very least, I made the decision myself. Even if I have a hard time, I'm working toward my future instead of shouldering somebody else's guilt and favoritism." I hung up after I was done speaking, ignoring the sobbing and advice that echoed from the receiver. … Mom and Dad visited me at my rented apartment when the acceptance letter was delivered to the house.

he said. "I did not know what I was going to be before this," she said. She said it carefully, the way she said the true things that had been waiting to be said for a while and that she wanted to say correctly. "Not before the bond or before the pack house. I mean before I understood what it felt like to be chosen entirely. I had been wanted before, for what I represented and what I carried and what I was able to do, and I had been needed, which is a different category entirely, and I had been used, which is another category still, and none of those are the same as chosen. Being chosen is the specific act of someone looking at everything you are, including the parts that are difficult and th

Aiden’s thumb brushed it away before it could fall further and that almost made it worse. “In you,” I said quietly, “I found something I didn’t know I needed.” My voice softened. “Peace.” Silence settled around us, wrapped by an unusual kind of warmth. “I choose you,” I finished. “Not because I have to and not because it’s easy. But because it’s real.” I exhaled slowly. “I choose you. Always.” Aiden didn’t speak immediately, he just looked at me, like he was taking it all in. “I wasn’t looking for anything,” he said.