The Best Sci-fi Short Stories

The Shadow Bride is a haunting tale of duty, mystery, and a love that defies fate. When 23-year-old Avery is forced to marry her late sister’s fiancé to preserve a long-standing family tradition, she finds herself leaving behind her dreams for a life she never chose. Set in the quiet, eerie countryside of Montana, Avery is thrown into a loveless union with the brooding and distant Elias—a man mourning the woman he was meant to marry. But Avery soon senses something more than grief lurking in Elias’s eyes. Whispers of secrets buried in the woods, a strange connection to the moon, and a family with a history shrouded in darkness begin to unravel around her. She may have said “I do” out of obligation—but what she doesn’t know is that her husband’s curse is only just beginning to unfold.

***EXCERPT*** "I could burn the world to ashes, and you would still be the only thing worth destroying," he whispered, his lips just close enough to feel my desperate, trembling breath, tears leaking down my eyes. "Your pain is beautiful, Tera," he whispered with a chilling smile. "It shows you're still trying to fight what you know you've already lost." *** Dr. Tera Williams thought her life couldn't sink any lower after signing the divorce papers her husband's mistress threw in her face. But when a twist of fate puts her in a prison cell, stripping her of her career and reputation, she realizes she hasn't even begun to fall. After spending three years in prison, she struggles to get her life back on track again by starting from her lowest. Despite all the hurdles she had to endure from her current boss, she finds love again with Ryan, a single father, who is madly in love with her. But just as she's about to marry him, her worst nightmare resurfaces: She finds out that she is still legally married to her obsessive ex-husband, Logan, who has been doing everything possible to win her back. How does she navigate her life when she is now trapped between two possessive men who are not willing to give her up for the other? Trigger Warning: This is a dark, intense romance with a few scenes of psychological manipulation, violence, and non-con. Recommended for mature readers.

Alex found himself entangled in a destiny, just when he was about to enjoy his teenage days. He reluctantly accepted to save his hometown from a calamity which had been happening for some years. He discovered some secrets in the course of saving his people from the calamity, to his surprise. How on earth is the people he regarded to be his biological parents for eighteen years not his? Will he eventually accept his destiny? Will he embrace his identity? Watch out as secrets unfold.

As a man, you never expected that the love of your life would be a man. Together you overcome your fears and take a boat trip. But then things go horribly wrong. What is destiny, and can you change it through time travel?

When my son was born, I noticed a small, round birthmark on his arm. But the weird thing? By the time I opened my eyes again after giving birth, it was gone. I figured maybe I'd imagined it. That is, until the baby shower. My brother-in-law's son, born the same day as mine, had the exact same birthmark. Clear as day. That's when it hit me. I didn't say a word, though. Not then. I waited. Eighteen years later, at my son's college acceptance party, my brother-in-law stood up and dropped the truth bomb: the "amazing" kid I'd raised was theirs. I just smiled and invited him and his wife to take their "rightful" seats at the table.

At my engagement ceremony, Luke Brown's first love suddenly appeared. He kissed her right in front of everyone and rekindled their old romance. "I'm sorry, Claire. I can't lie to myself," he said to me. "No matter how hard you try, you'll never be her." The ceremony turned into a joke. But later, when the most powerful man in Grento took my hand, Luke finally panicked. "Wait, the one you love is me," he said. Anderson Brown chuckled and pulled me into his arms. "Allow me to introduce my wife, Claire West."

Minahal ni Samantha si Rex simula bata pa lamang siya. Hindi niya alintana ang malaking agwat ng kanilang edad pero may mahal na siya. After 10 years bumalik siya para sakanyang pamilya ngunit pati ang kanyang pag - ibig sakanya ay muling mabubuhay. Ang kanilang one - night - stand ay magbubunga pero sa kagustuhan niyang itago ito ay makakagawa siya ng bagay na pagsisihan niya. After 4 years muli siyang bumalik para kunin ang kanyang pag - aari ngunit ito ay pag - aari na ng iba. Papano niya itatama ang isang pagkakamali kung siya ang unang taong nakalimutan niya? May pag - asa pa bang maging kanya ang puso nitong kahit kailan ay hindi niya makuha - kuha?

Walang nagawa si Ada nang pumayag ang kaniyang ama na ipakasal sa lalaking hindi kilala. Ang alam lang niya 'tungkol sa kaniyang magiging asawa ay isang bilyonaryo, matagumpay sa pagpapatakbo ng negosyo at nag-iisang anak ng isang kilalang business tycoon. Natapos ang paghahanda para sa kasal, na hindi man lang nagpakita ang mapapangasawa at nagpakilala ng pormal sa kaniya. Sa araw at sa mismong kasal ay nakilala niya ito subalit laking gulat ni Ada, na si Nik pala ang taong iyon. Ang taong nagligta kay Ada nang may magtatangkang gumahasa sa kaniya sa party ng kaibigan at sa lalaking nakasama ng isang gabi sa pagbabakasyon sa La Union. Pero ang Nik na ngayong naging asawa ay ibang-iba sa nakilala at ang tingin nito sa kaniya ay isang babaeng kayamanan lang ang habol kaya nagpakasal dito. Matapos ang unang gabi ng pagiging mag-asawa nila ay iniwan na siya nito kinabukasan at isang taon ang nakalipas ay uuwi na ito subalit para makipaghiwalay sa kaniya. Hindi sila maaring maghiwalay ni Nik dahil magagalit ang Papa niya sa kaniya at kailangan nila si Nik upang iligtas ang palubog na nilang negosyo. Kahit ayaw niyang maging tama ang paningin ni Nik sa kaniya ay kailangan niyang iligtas ang negosyo para sa amang minamahal.

After three years of living with my wife’s family, everyone thought they could treat me like a pushover. Me? I’m just waiting for her to hold my hand before I can give her the world.

C'est une histoire d'amour particulière de Jordan et Elsa, deux mannequins qui se retrouvent à travailler ensemble alors qu'ils s'aimaient même avant de réellement se connaître.