Mistaken Novels & Stories

“And I know you’re probably wondering how I could say those awful things to you when I’m madly in love with you. How could I have hurt you the way I did, when you’re the only woman I want?” I swallowed the thick lump in my throat. She didn’t say anything, but her expression spoke loudly. What I said penetrated her deeply. I ran a hand over my jaw, feeling a day’s worth of stubble covering it. “And I don’t have an answer to that. All I can say is it was in the heat of the moment, my father’s pain consuming me. I lashed out at the wrong person. God, Abbey. I am so fucking sorry. That day will be the biggest fucking mistake of my life. My one regret.” I looked into her eyes, pleading without sa

I whispered in disbelief. “It was a mistake.” I laughed bitterly through my tears. “A mistake?” “Yes.” “No.” I shook my head violently. “A mistake is accidentally putting salt instead of sugar into tea. A mistake is forgetting the flowers at the ceremony because you were nervous. A mistake is saying the wrong thing during an argument and regretting it afterward.” My chest tightened painfully as I stared at him. “But this?” My voice cracked. “This wasn’t a mistake, Roth. You didn’t accidentally fall into bed with her.”

Nathaniel removed his jacket and gently draped it over my shoulders, wrapping it tightly around me. "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm late." His voice was thick with guilt and self-reproach. The moment he spoke, all color drained from Scarlett's face. Realizing what had happened, she scrambled to my feet on her hands and knees and grabbed at the hem of my pants. "Oh my, this is all just a misunderstanding between family! Ma'am… no, Mom! Look, it's all a huge misunderstanding! "I really didn't know it was you! If I had known, I wouldn't have dared even if I had a hundred lives! I was just too worried about Nathaniel. I was afraid he'd be deceived by some bad woman outside, so I acted on impulse…"

A slow breath left my lips as I turned onto my side, pulling the pillow closer, as though I could somehow bury the noise inside my head. *Suspended.* The word echoed. Sharp. Final. But it wasn’t the suspension that lingered. It was everything else. “*Mistake.*” I let out a hollow chuckle, my fingers curling into the bedsheet beneath me. Funny. How one word could follow you your entire life. Job mistake. Study mistake. Pack mistake. Mate mistake. I shut my eyes, my throat tightening. Maybe… Maybe even my birth was one. The thought didn’t come with drama anymore.

Inside my chest, the fury that had been simmering since yesterday boiled over and I couldn’t take it anymore. My fork clattered against the plate. “You messed with the car,” I said, voice louder than I meant. It cracked on the last word. “You sabotaged it so I’d be late and I’d get punished. If you’re going to do this, fine. Punish me. But do it fairly. It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t let the car break down on purpose. I didn’t plan to be ten minutes late. He set me up. That’s unjust. It’s cheating. And I’m the one who ends up scolded because of you.”

I’d transposed two numbers. “It’s a minor error,” I said quickly. “The overall analysis still holds…” “A minor error?” Marcus leaned forward. “A 0.5 difference in leverage ratio is hardly minor, Elena. That’s the kind of mistake that could cost us millions if we base our decision on faulty data.” Heat flooded my face. “I acknowledge the error, but the conclusion…” “The conclusion is based on incorrect numbers,” Marcus said. “Maybe if you’d spent less time in Singapore and more time double-checking your work…”

I felt him tremble once, and then it passed. When he finally pulled back, his eyes were red but steady. "That's why my sample was in the clinic's system," he said quietly. "We'd stored extra, in case we tried again. And then there was a mistake." My heart tightened. "Mislabeled," I said slowly. "That's all it was." "A vial in the wrong place. A tag that didn't match." His mouth twisted. "Three people signed off on it and nobody caught it. By the time the clinic ran their audit, you'd already had the transfer."

Memory suppression. She turned another page. A sentence was underlined. Repeated exposure may create false emotional associations. Celine stared at it. “What does that mean?” Her mother looked at Adam. “They were trying to make Adam remember certain people differently.” Adam went pale. “Victoria?” “Possibly.” “Celine?” Her mother nodded. “They wanted you to become the person Adam would associate with safety.” Celine felt sick. “So our relationship…” “Was real,” her mother said quickly. “But manipulated.”

DISBELIEF. Inability to accept that something is true or real. Opening his eyes, Dylan couldn’t believe he was back to being admitted to the hospital for an incident he could have avoided. He feels a sharp pain come from his lower abdomen and curses under his breath as he could have avoided the knife if not for missing a step.

I asked and almost regretted my question. My mom gave her a scornful look before answering me. "The clothes look good on her but her personality is bad. You can easily change clothes but you can't change her from being poor." My mom insulted her and climbed the stairs. Looking at Karen, I suddenly felt sorry for her. "I'm sorry for my mother's behavior." I pleaded on her behalf. She sat on the sofa and avoided my gaze. "I expected her to get angry." She simply replied. I suddenly felt like a fool for apologizing to her. "I'm sorry for what you're going through, I know I shouldn't have informed you about my family before you signed the contract but I was confused. I didn't know what I was doi