Ten Years Late Novels & Stories

"Nathan, if you don't want to take responsibility, you don't need to flee back to Kingsford." I stared at her blankly before laughing. "No, you've got the wrong idea. It's New Year's. I haven't been back in four years. I have to go home this year." Without hesitation, she replied, "Then I'm coming with you. Even ugly daughters-in-law have to meet their in-laws eventually." I twitched at the corner of my mouth before finding myself smiling. "Okay." The next day, when the plane landed in Kingsford, the city felt strangely unfamiliar.

The hotel staff smiled courteously at me and said hesitantly, "Apologies, sir, but your reservation for the hall has already gone ten minutes over. "The next couple is waiting to use the hall for their wedding rehearsal. I'm really sorry about this." My gaze drifted past him to the couple behind him. Seeing their impatient expressions, I forced an awkward smile and apologized. "It's my fault for holding things up. I'll pack up and go." A staff member from the wedding planning company followed me out of the hotel. "Mr. Jackman, just like the previous nine times, we didn't complete the rehearsal. However, the deposit is non-refundable."

"I will go first, then you guys tell yours next." Seeing no reply, he directed his gaze at Salvador. "Agreed?" "Hmmm...." Salvador hummed. "Then where do I start from." He leaned into his chair, and with a reminiscing look, he started. "my name is Ten, you can call her Emma. We arrived at Gehinnom nine years ago–" "Eleven." His companion rolled her eyes at his stupidness. "I knew you kept count." Ten ha-ad. Then continued. "Like she said, eleven years ago. On a military expenditure."

It was our tenth anniversary. I got home soon, only to realise I was already late. I hurriedly made his favorite meal and set the table, waiting for his arrival. I got to the room and soon I was done putting on a little makeup and a perfect fitted gown, I blushed my cheeks slightly to adjust the powder. My heart screamed he would finally notice me. He was finally going to love me again. Ten years was such a long time to neglect. Glancing at my wristwatch, those thoughts gradually faded into thin air. It was already past his usual arrival time, yet he wasn’t home.

About my family in careful capital letters that had already decided something the adults were still working toward. She typed back slowly Ask me tomorrow at ten o'clock. His reply came in seconds "I'll be there at nine fifty."

Ten Years Later Harlan and Luna just celebrated their fifteenth birthday and we were planning on telling them about the prophecy. The day after their birthday, we called them our room and told them to join us in our bed. “Mother, father, what is going on?” Luna asks, “Yeah mum, dad, should we be worried?” asks Harlan.

Mom said to me, my brows furrowed as I stared at her, ofcourse I know the penalty for coming late, but she’s a big joker if she thinks I’ll do that dirty job late comers do. If you’re late for ten minutes you’ll do ten minutes of service that day, basically just tending to everybody’s needs and running on errands, and now today I’m late by almost four hours, I unconsciously bursted out in a chuckle at the thought, four hours of service? Interesting! “I had things I needed to urgently attend to,” I replied casually not meeting her gaze which I knew she so desperately wanted me to meet, Michelle comes in at anytime she wants and it’s not an issue, so what’s the irk!

Ten Years The tenth year arrived with the specific gravity of round numbers — not more significant than nine, not less significant than eleven, but carrying the weight of a marker that the mind attached meaning to simply because of its shape. Ten years since the gate. Elara stood at the east wall on the first morning of the tenth year and let the number be what it was — significant and ordinary simultaneously, the way all true things were.

Maya's POV Carter was never late.... This was the thing I kept returning to as I sat in the hospital's family waiting area with my phone... Carter had built his professional reputation on the understanding that the people who hired him were dealing with situations where time and sequence mattered, and that arriving late was a different thing from arriving with bad news, which he had delivered many times across the past months..... because late meant the information had not arrived, and information not arriving was always worse than information arriving badly.

He looked up at me with a gaze that was both satisfied and chillingly amused. Then, unexpectedly, he spoke again, his voice softening in a way that sent a chill through me. “But you have to admit, he’s incredibly charming, isn’t he? So innocent, so easy to fool—he hasn’t changed a bit since ten years ago.” The words sliced through me like a blade. ‘Ten years ago?’ Had he truly set his sights on Neil all that time ago? My mind flashed to those haunting video clips, and to his cryptic mention of “waited a full ten years for this.” My suspicions deepened as I pressed him. “Ten years ago? What happened back then?”