Olympia Tides Table Novels & Stories

Penelope Rivera's little boy toy, Theodore Schneider, is throwing another tantrum. She slides the divorce papers across the table toward me. "Just sign them for show. It's to keep Teddy happy." I clench the cuff of my suit and nod in silence. I sign my name in one swift stroke. As I'm walking out, I hear one of her girlfriends teasing, "Samuel's way too easygoing. Does he actually do everything you say?" Penelope takes a graceful sip of red wine and smirks. "Wanna bet?" They bet that I will quietly go through with the divorce at the courthouse, even if my eyes are red with tears. Listening their laughter, I rub my thumb over my phone screen and reply to the message I've just received. "Will you marry me?" it says. "I will."

Evan emerges after some time and notices that the room is empty, indicating that Bella has left, but the thrown money placing on the bed remains, and a note was on the table. He approaches the table and picks up the letter that was written on it. "You did the right thing by divorcing a whore like me." It was not just the words but something else that caught his attention and those were the Tear drops. This is the story of Bella and Evan, who were once a beautiful, loving husband and wife, and how they got caught in someone's web of hatred and disgusting lies and had to separate. Instead of love, their hearts were filled with hatred and misunderstandings. After two years of divorce, they came face-to-face once again, and both wanted to move on, but fate had something else in store for them. Soon they will face all the ugly truths, and will they be able to be together again? The journey from marriage to divorce, and then from hatred to love,

Every anniversary, Mark had some twisted surprise for me. Our tenth? He strutted into the ballroom holding hands with an escort wearing straight up lingerie. "Jenna, she's cold. Hand over your dress." Then, like that wasn't sick enough: "And the lingerie. She likes your vibe." I clutched my collar, trying to keep it together. He didn't care—just yanked it open. "Cut the act. Your dad sold you to me, remember? That slutty look you used to give me—I still see it." Everyone stared, waiting for me to break. So I did the one thing I could. "I want a divorce." Again. Mark just laughed and chucked a stack of photos on the table—me, covered in marks, curled in bed, a total mess. "You say that every year. And every year, you're back in my bed. Think your mom keeps that hospital spot if these get out?"

My husband, Daniel Thompson, looked down on me. I was just a farmer's daughter in his eyes, and he never loved the son I gave birth to. It wasn’t until our baby turned 100 days old that he held him for the first time. Then, one day, his first love, Claire Matthews, came back to the city. That night at dinner, Daniel, who was always cold and distant, finally smiled. He even reached across the table and placed a piece of meat on Noah’s plate. Noah beamed all evening, clutching onto that tiny gesture like it was a treasure. Just before bed, he whispered to me, "Mom, do you think he likes me now… even just a little?" I wrapped him in my arms, tears blurring my vision as I gently shook my head. "No, sweetheart. It’s because the woman he truly loves is back. It’s time for us to go."

My roommates booked a New Year's Eve light show table—five hundred per person—and started urging me in the group chat to transfer the money. I quietly sent a screenshot of my account balance. "You guys go ahead," I wrote. "I haven't even scraped together my tuition yet." They replied with a string of mocking "haha"s. Our dorm leader, Giselle Murdoch, even posted on her social media with the caption: [The first step to crossing class boundaries is distancing yourself from people who kill the mood.] Just after midnight, they sent me a photo from the light show and said, "Too bad you're not here." I frowned, confused, when my counselor's call cut in—her voice tight with urgency. "Did you invite your roommates to the light show? The organizers said they never even checked in! They're missing!"

I spent three hundred dollars on a brand-new phone for my mother, only for her to start saying that the smartphone was stealing her money and that I had personally siphoned off her bank balance. I could never win the argument. So I offered to just reimburse whatever “loss” she imagined. She got even more unhappy. She slapped a stack of receipts on the table and demanded I pay up. “Where did you buy this piece of junk? It’s a ticking time bomb. Give me my money back!” Most of the receipts were for men’s sneakers and athletic wear; the rest were household basics like brooms and hangers. I felt a wave of suffocating frustration. Since when was shopping free? Why was I expected to pay for her? I bought her a new phone, and I just became the ATM? “Fine. If you hate it that much, I’m taking it back to the store.” But she would not let go.

I just woke up one day with a handsome vampire by my side, offering me a contract marriage. I knew it was like being courted by the devil, yet like a foolish lamb who laid herself on the sacrificial table, I reached for his hand, not knowing that it would consume my reckless heart. Eve was caught in a fight between vampires and werewolves after her vampire boyfriend left her. With her family and friends killed by an unknown vampire group, she is left with no choice but to ask for Landon's help, the vampire lord who saved her for his personal interest. Landon was a scheming man who holds many dark secrets, a devil who won't hesitate to consume the souls of his victims. He wants to play with Eve, to consume her little by little, but when his dead heart starts to feel warmth for the first time, he realized he found someone he is willing to burn a whole city for.

In Lunular Island where the tides rise with the moon, Crisel stands as the most feared and revered Raksha — the alpha bloodline’s protector. But Crisel carries a dangerous secret that no one suspects… she is Alrael’s luna. For fifteen years, she has lived with this secret and kept it even from Alrael himself. The former alpha, Aphael, insisted on this deception, fearing that the same betrayal which murdered Alrael’s mother and sister during the Great Extermination would happen again. Now, Crisel walks beside Alrael as he leads the moonlight wolves by day. But at night, Alrael becomes Black Justice, a vigilante who’s hunting for answers to his family’s slaughter, and Crisel fights by his side as they inch closer to uncovering the conspiracy that threatens the very essence of moonlight wolves. Yet, every moment of closeness is a reminder of what Crisel can never tell him… that she is his Luna, his mate — she can only allow her love to burn in secret. The burden of Crisel’s hidden identity even grows unbearable especially when Alrael is pressured by the village heads to marry and secure the alpha lineage. They believed that the luna is long dead and have arranged his marriage to Giana, a genius from Crescent Village. Now, the wedding day approaches and the weight of the past, the fear of betrayal, and her love for Alrael all collide in that moment. Time… is running out for Crisel. But with the vows spoken, and the preacher having said, “Speak now, or forever hold your peace", Crisel has to make a choice. Will she allow her alpha marry the wrong girl or…. will she speak now? Will she be risking everything and be rudely barging in on the alpha’s white-veil occasion?

"Mr. Hill, I feel so itchy! My dad has already left, so hurry up and scratch my itch for me with your finger!" At the dining table, my friend, Leon Shaffer's daughter, Maya Shaffer, has had too many oysters, causing her hormones to go out of whack. As such, her libido has risen considerably. Maya is wearing a miniskirt at the moment. Right now, she's parting her legs in front of me, revealing her white panties seductively. I'm used to not feeling a woman's touch all year round. The sight of the young woman's most private parts makes my heart pound wildly and my blood sing in my ears. So, I respond by freeing my manhood from my zipper before wagging it at Maya. "There's nothing good about my finger! Why don't I use this willy of mine for the job?"

I sat at the table, watching the food grow cold, much like my heart. Today was my birthday. It was also Leslie Buck's birthday—Katherine White's childhood sweetheart. I unlocked my phone and opened Leslie's social media page. As expected, a new post awaited me. "Grateful to have you by my side for every birthday. Let's keep our promise to celebrate every one of them together in the future!" The photo showed two hands forming a heart in front of a cake. One of them was Katherine's. I could tell from the bracelet she wore. It was the one I had given her. I gave the post a like, then set my phone aside. Without hesitation, I dumped the dishes Katherine liked into the trash and went out to a restaurant to order the food I liked, celebrating my birthday alone. From now on, I would make sure to enjoy every birthday of mine.