Seven Years Together, But Never Forever Novels & Stories

I hated his deception and the pain he caused me, but seeing him collapse after taking the blade for me, all my resentment mixed with emotions I could not name. Enrico struggled to lift his hand, as if to touch my face, but it fell weakly mid-air. "Because... you're the only woman... I'll ever acknowledge... as my wife..." His breathing grew weaker. "I never gave you... a real wedding... I'm sorry..." Before he could finish, his head drooped, and he fell silent forever. I stood there, staring at his lifeless body. My heart felt empty. This man, who had deceived and hurt me for five years, had finally paid for his mistakes with his life. All the love, hate, and grievances ended with his death.

I grabbed the TV remote and turned it on, flipping through the channels until my eyes caught on a tabloid news. I'm telling you, the 7th-year wedding anniversary party of New York's star-crossed couple is the hottest take in town, one of the anchors was saying. Yes, they look so in love. So enamored by each other. It's not often you see young couples stay together for that long, the other, a petite-looking lady, said. I beg to differ, though; most young couples don't make it past the 7th year. It's almost like a 7-year curse, the first replied.

Connecting. Forever.

The tiny, folded slip of paper , Ethan Grant’s phone number , had become my personal religion. For fourteen agonizing days, it had lived tucked deep inside the stitching of my uniform apron, a burning coal against my skin. Two weeks. I had survived two weeks of perfect silence, two weeks of scrubbing floors and polishing secrets, pretending the warm pressure of his lips on my cheek had been nothing but a fever dream.

“Not helping.” “Wasn't trying to help. Just true.” She drops onto the couch, tucks her legs up the way she has since high school, and I sit at the other end, same distance we've always kept. She walks me through it — thirty days, married a full year with no gaps, Vera already clearing her calendar like it's decided. Something goes tight in my chest when she gets to the part where Voss told her he wasn't going to bother pretending to care about her. I have to look at my hands for a second.

On the day after my twin brother, Jonathan Sander's death, I've married Natania Gilmore, my widowed sister-in-law. That day, Natania prints a thousand copies of Jonathan's death report and announces to the world that I'm the actual killer. Because of that, everyone despises me. Even my parents sever all ties with me on the spot. After our marriage, Natania keeps getting into romantic scandals. She's also brought countless men home with her. She makes me stand outside her room while listening to their debauchery every time. I'm also required to take photos of her and her boytoy with my camera once they are done with their lovemaking. I can only stomach everything quietly. My only plea is

Snow landed in our hair. For one perfect, stupid moment, I thought we'd grow old together. Back then, that was enough. That was happiness. But now, the dream I'd held onto for seven years had finally shattered.

I watch it arc through the air—a tiny ember against all that darkness—and disappear. _*]:min-w-0"> "Seven years," he says quietly. _*]:min-w-0"> "What?" _*]:min-w-0"> "We would have been married seven years. Tonight." _*]:min-w-0"> Seven years. The number feels impossible. Ancient. Like something from a different lifetime, a different version of us. Seven years since that courthouse. Seven years since he slid a ring onto my finger with hands that shook slightly, even though he tried to hide it. Seven years since I thought I knew what my future looked like.

The way he used to brush a stray crumb off her lips with his thumb. Kat blinked rapidly, willing the tears to stay back. She hated this. Hated how effortlessly he could unravel her composure. And then Levi’s gaze flicked to the board. “Hey,” he said, his tone lighter, “look at that.” Kat followed his eyes, her stomach sinking as she spotted it. Their picture. The one they’d taken on a whim, laughing like fools, scribbling “Levi + Kat forever” beneath it in bright red marker. “It’s still there,” Levi mused, his voice soft but deliberate.

She told me that judging by how this year was the ninth year she had loved me, it proved that our relationship could last forever. Upon hearing that, I instantly recalled a quote, "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with," in a reply I once stumbled upon on the internet. At that time, I was still doubtful about this statement, but now, I supposed that the user was right. Unexpectedly, Ashley divorced during the second year of my marriage with Luna. That day, she contacted me. She said that she had nowhere to go and sleep and that I was the only one she could rely on.