The Day I Choose Myself Novels & Stories

On my first day after being appointed President of the Castellano Group, I had just reached the main entrance of the company headquarters when a female employee stopped me. “Only senior management is allowed through this entrance. Janitorial staff must use the side entrance.” I frowned slightly. “I’m not janitorial staff.” Instead of backing down, she took the senior employee ID badge from her chest and waved it in front of me with a mocking smile. “Not janitorial staff?” “Then you’re an intern?” “Interns have to use the side entrance too! This has been a long-standing rule of our company!” “If you can’t even follow such a basic rule, pack your things and get out right now!” I glanced at the

Overwhelming grief and despair flooded her heart. She suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and never woke up again until she opened her eyes and found herself reborn. She had another chance. This time, she could change everything. All Victoria wanted now was to live for herself. She would chase the dream she'd sacrificed and stand on the stage where she had always belonged. As for Sebastian, Ethan, and this cold, loveless home, they would no longer have anything to do with her.

On graduation day, my childhood friend, Liam Carter, handed me a college application. "Apply to Williams College with me, and I'll be your boyfriend." Williams College was tucked away in the mountains, far from home. If I went there, I would rarely get the chance to visit my family. But I took the application without a second thought and signed my name. The day I received my acceptance letter, I happened to see the messages on Liam's phone. They were from my parents, my brother, and Liam. [Has Audrey agreed to go to Williams College?] [Of course! She got her acceptance letter today!] [Now that we've sent her far away, Vera can finally stay with us in peace.] [Liam, you must have had

It surprised me. “I won't keep paying for something that was never going to choose me back.” My heartbeat picked up, fast, in my own ears. “I choose myself this time.” Alfred nodded slowly, already sure this day would come.

At a party the night before Aiden and I are supposed to officially get engaged, someone starts a round of "Never Have I Ever." One of my fiancé's friends raises his glass. "Never have I ever gotten my fiancée's best friend pregnant before getting engaged." The room goes dead silent for a second. Then everyone bursts out laughing. I pretend I don't hear a thing and keep feeding my fiancé, Aiden Bassett, pieces of fruit like he's the only person in the room. Aiden takes a slow sip of his drink, then looks over at my best friend, Sharon Moore, his expression soft. "Sharon's always wanted a baby, but she never wants to get married. I just helped her out." Sharon looks away shyly. "Okay, eno

Th‌at w‍a‍s when‍ I understo‍od what made this d​iffer​ent​, the f‍irs​t time, I had bee‍n ru‍nning fr⁠om a life some‍one​ e‌l‍se had c‍hosen‍ for me. T‌hi​s t⁠ime, I was​ choosing my own. I cou‌‌ld cho​os​e the dress, the flowers, the mu⁠si⁠‍c, the vo​ws, the people standing⁠ beside me⁠ and the man waiting a‍t the end of the‍ aisle. Everythin​g. ​ I looked dow​n a​t m‌y stoma‍ch. “A‌n⁠‍d‍ I wan‌t our⁠ babies⁠ t‍here.”

In the fifth year of our relationship, Rossi Mateo finally proposed to me. On the day of our wedding, Rossi, who had left to handle family business, sent me a last-minute message saying his private jet’s flight clearance had been denied and the wedding would have to be postponed. But amid the whispers of our guests, I received a video from his former lover, Ava Moretti. Beneath a sky ablaze with the Northern Lights, he slipped a ring bearing the Matteo family crest onto her finger and said, "I gave you the ring that belongs to the Donna. Happy now?" A voice outside the frame reminded him cautiously, "Don, we should go. Your wedding with Emily DeLuca is tomorrow." Ava complained loudly,

The answer came softly but heavily, “You.” Ava stood there, breathing fast, looking at both versions of herself as everything inside her pulled in different directions, like she was standing at the center of a storm made of her own identity. Then slowly, her voice lowered into something more steady, more certain. “I don’t want to lose any part of me.” The figure smiled faintly. “Then you are ready.” The other Ava nodded gently. “Finally.” Ava closed her eyes, and when she spoke again, her voice was quiet but absolute. “I choose all of me.”

“One last thing for the record. The pack needs to hear you say it.” “What?” I ask. He nods toward Grady’s hand around mine. “Who you belong to.” My chest tightens and loosens in the same breath. Old words try to climb my tongue and I shove them back and speak new ones instead. “I belong to myself,” I say first. The amphitheater goes very still. Then I tip my chin toward the man at my side, toward my child and toward the stone under our feet. “And I choose them. Every day. Even when it’s hard, especially then.”

Even my folks can't be please They want me to choose my opposite I hate it, so I won't choose it. I'll only choose my purpose.