Someone Else's Shoes: A Novel Novels & Stories

“Brenda, these are one-thousand-dollar shoes. If you can’t manage a glass of wine, then we’re reevaluating our friendship, darling.” I rolled my eyes and sighed, but my insides were buzzing with excitement. I love shoes. I love shoes like Dayton loves lingerie. They’re my guilty pleasure—the one addiction I allowed myself to indulge in. And Shaw, being a sales assistant at Arabella’s, the hottest shoe store in Seattle, added to my indulgence whenever he could. After all, he worked in a female shoe store. Not even he could get away with those shoes. So last season’s styles and samples at a huge discount came right my way.

I wonder if he knows how much power he holds in his gaze. “I wish it made sense now,” I stumble over a rock in a pair of sneakers I borrowed from Evander. There are a few rocks inside the shoe as well that I'd love to take out, but Axel is moving with so much focus and determination that I dare not tell him that my shoes are full of sharp little pebbles. Old with small holes in the top mesh, this is not the footwear I would have chosen for a tromp through the forest but I didn't have much choice. My other shoes were ruined when I was dragged down the sidewalk by a strange group of men in a white van. Thankfully Evander and I happened to be around the same size. They aren't a perfect fit, but

After paying the bill, Mia and Shelly made their way to the café downstairs together. The ambiance was undeniably delightful—quiet, with only a few patrons, providing a sense of privacy. As they sat down, Shelly couldn't help but massage her feet. "My feet are killing me after standing for so long." Mia stole a glance at Shelly's designer high heels and noticed that they didn't fit well, causing visible blisters on her feet. Despite her discomfort, Shelly stubbornly refused to take off her shoes; it was evident that she had a deep-seated vanity.

Just nods, tight smiles, subtle bows. Then the uncle appeared; the very same man I’d met at the clubhouse. I smiled politely, but something tugged at my attention. His shoes. Shiny. A couple centimeters of heel. Odd design. The exact same style; same shape, same leather; as the shoes he’d worn when we met at the club. Except in a different color. These weren’t shoes you could identify by brand. They weren’t trending. Probably custom. Something about that familiarity crawled under my skin, and I mentally noted to look up shoes like that online later. Just curiosity. Or… a feeling. I couldn’t tell which. But I know I felt disturbingly bothered with his presence and his shoes. Especially his sh

Sarah The quicker I could get in and out of town, the better. If I hurried maybe, I could get away before I managed to stir up any trouble. I watched father and son walk away toward the hardware store, and then turned to walk to the shoe store. I pulled open the door and breathed in the weird smell of new shoes. They were arranged in rows, displayed on top of stacks of boxes, everything from high-heels to work boots, athletic shoes to slippers. The sales girl did a double take when she saw me, and stiffened, but to her credit, she greeted me politely. “Hello, can I help you find something today?”

She’d used his money and connection to get the new edition bag that wasn’t even on sale yet. “Wait!” Someone gasped from behind, coming to stand between Elle and Anna. “Anna is wearing the same shoes as Elle. Is this what I am thinking?” They let out an ‘ohhhh’ and ‘booo’ after checking. Truly, Anna was wearing the same shoes as Elle, the white heels sent to Anna. “Is she copying Elle?” “She does this every time.” “Yet again, she proved to be a bitch.” Their murmurs grew louder, staring at the heels worn by the sisters and judging on who copied who.

Although the novel mentioned he went to his haven, it didn’t specify where it was. My feet would melt at any second, so I sat on the sofa in the drawing-room and removed my shoes to let my feet breathe. A break wouldn’t be bad, especially if one of your swollen right foot would about to pop like a water balloon. Second, who told women to put on these unbelievably painful types of shoes? “The jerk must be in the greenhouse in case you’re wondering.” His shadow, which overlapped mine, a fruity voice that could woo any soul — those were enough to identify him.

I asked fearfully. There was no response. Even so, my gaze was drawn to the two dirty glasses by the bar near the fire. I approached and picked up one of them. It was half empty, its rim stained with a woman’s red lipstick. Then I looked down at the floor. A few feet ahead of me past the rug, lay a woman’s shoe. It was a stiletto, with a very high, thin heel. Its sole was red, and the rest of the shoe was black. I followed the trail it left and found the other shoe a bit further away, near a man’s crumpled jacket on the floor.

Their lives and families were topics, she remembered. Finally, he closed the hidden door behind them before they struck out toward the River Vitae and the boat that would take them into the city proper. “I think I should have kept my other clothes on and changed later. This isn’t easy walking in these shoes with how soft the soil is here.” George now noticed how much difficulty Ana was having walking and regretted buying her those shoes. At the time, he thought they appeared practical and the shopkeeper who sold them to him claimed they were a pair of practical lady’s shoes.

He hurriedly moved closer to the bed and sat. “So, Trisha viewed my story…” “Trisha? Your best friend from that year?” “Yes, her. Then I went ahead to check her profile. I scrolled through her pictures and saw this.” I showed him my phone and he still looked confused. “Your shoes?” “Not only that,” I said as I played the footage again. “Look at the shoes. They are the same.” He zoomed in and after he saw it, he raised his brows. “They are the same. But there are so many people who own the same shoes in this kingdom. I have one too.”