The Breakable Novels & Stories

he said in a tone she had not heard so far. A small girl, with delicate features, appeared through the living room door. She was wearing a ballerina tutu and I could swear she was the cutest thing she'd seen in years. James quickly dropped to his knees and the little girl came running into his arms. "You broke your promise yesterday." she said, grimacing. He laughed. "I know, honey. I just had a lot of things to do." "And that's more important than me?" she expressed remorsefully. James snorted amusedly.

I didn't ask for anything that wasn't rightfully mine, but I made damn sure to get everything that was. I glanced at Zachary beside me, he looked completely broken. Anxious. Defeated. Nothing like the confident man I'd married. "Ella, is this really it for us? No second chances?" "That's right. We're done." I studied his face, remembering how nervous he'd been when he first asked me out all those years ago. But I wasn't that starry-eyed girl anymore. A cracked mirror can never reflect a perfect image again. Zachary and I—our story had reached its final page.

A little deeper. And that was it. Roman broke.

In the end, I told myself it was wrong to be petty toward a grieving widow, so I was the one who gave in and apologized. Later, when Ryan wanted to put his ring back on, he couldn't find it anywhere. Luckily, I still had the original design sketches. Since my own ring was getting worn out, I decided to order a brand-new set, identical to the first. But before the rings even arrived, our bond had already shattered. I instinctively rubbed the faint pale mark where my ring used to sit. My old band was still sitting on that table back at the Pack House. "I don't want them. Even if they're brand new and identical, our bond is fractured. There's no going back."

I broke up with Andrew as fast as I could. I returned every gift he had ever given me, packed my things, and moved out of the apartment we had shared. In the shortest time possible, I cut every tie between us. However, to him, I was just being dramatic. He kept coming after me, complaining again and again. "Over one experiment? You're really breaking up with me over that? I already bought the diamond ring. I was going to propose to you, and this is how you treat me?"

Luna turned four in the midst of increasing chaos. Reality cracks now occurred daily across all alliance territories. Kade's early warning system helped minimize casualties, but they couldn't prevent the psychological toll of watching the world literally tear apart. "Happy birthday, baby," Aria said, helping Luna into a new dress. Blue, not grey. Never grey. "Is the world going to break on my birthday?" Luna asked matter-of-factly. She'd become accustomed to the cracks, treated them like weather patterns.

A sharp crack broke the silence in the living room. The bracelet hit the hard marble floor, and the gem shattered into pieces. At that instant, everything around me stood still. I stared at the broken pieces on the floor, my mind going blank. Susan shrieked and took a step back. Jason swiftly grabbed Susan's hand and anxiously checked the back of her hand and her calves. "Did you get cut by the shards? Does it hurt?" He was finally relieved after making sure that Susan wasn't hurt. He turned around and stared at me, frozen in place, my face pale.

Like I was reciting a script I’d been forced to learn. But I said them anyway. Because he’d told me not to break. Because that was the only thing I had left that still felt like mine—whether I followed through or not. My weight shifted, uneven and careful, as I tested my balance. The room swayed slightly, exhaustion pulling at me like chains, but I stayed standing. Barely. Just enough to keep from sinking back down and letting the pain win. “I won’t break,” I repeated, quieter this time, my voice steadier than I felt. “Even if I already feel shattered.”

Something that can’t be broken. Something that’s ours.

And then, barely audible, breaking like glass, "Much less a broken one."