The Ninth Rain Novels & Stories

The old woman's words hung in the air long after she said them. "The Bride of the Ninth Life has returned." Nobody moved. Not Kai, Not Draven, Not even the servant. The whole courtyard had turned to stone around me, and I stood in the middle of it, shaking, with no idea why a stranger kneeling on cold marble made me feel like the ground had opened under my feet. Ninth life?? What did that even mean? I looked at Kai. His jaw was tight enough to crack. I looked at Draven. For the first time since I'd met him, he wasn't smiling.

They part from each other, eyes matching. Something is not right here. RAINE POV She’s a roach. I was hoping to have a relaxing night. I’d wow the crowds, have a few drinks, and head home. With Karen here, I could not do that. The fact that she’d show up, after saying she no longer was planning to attend, rubs me the wrong way. Her entrance into Mr.Davis’s circle was obviously strategic, I just couldn’t figure out why.

After Isak's old flame, Julia, came back to town, she made a bet with me: he gets nine chances to choose between us in life-or-death situations. The one he abandons for the ninth time has to walk away. I agreed. The ninth time, a single phone call from Julia was all it took for Isak to leave me on the side of the road again. "Drive! Go!" Isak's voice was sharp, laced with a panic I'd never heard before. I clutched the gunshot wound in my stomach, blood seeping through my fingers, staining my white silk shirt.

I turned back to the window and let the rain hold my attention. Nine years, and that name still felt like a blade dragged slowly across an old wound. Whitmore. I hadn't heard it in longer than I could remember. I had built an entire life specifically engineered to be far above anything that name had ever amounted to and did everything within my power to never bear it again. And here it was, sandwiched between infrastructure contracts and a gala seating chart the moment I get back in the US.

Sharp pain shot through her knees as she pushed herself into cover before fumbling for the device. She sat on the chair and the screen lit up, five missed calls, one urgent text. Inez: Cass, where are you? Please pick up. Her fingers hovered over the screen. Vision blurred, tears mixing with rain. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to focus, refusing to crumble completely. She slipped the phone back into her bag and pushed herself to her feet. Water dripped down her face, mixing with her tears. Step by heavy step, she walked through the rain, aimless but determined.

*** THE YEAR 1991 Paul can’t seem to know how to move from his place as the heavy rain started to pour down through the ground while he wiped his nose. He sobbed uncontrollably as his shoulders were starting to shake, and he turned around towards the exit of the woods. The heavy rain was still pouring down as Paul let himself to be soaked in rain. Jane heard the rain outside as the tears fell down on her cheeks continuously. She sobbed uncontrollably as she thumped her chest with her palms and she can’t seem to move on from the pain that she was feeling right now. Her shoulders were shaking as she clasped her mouth from the sobs that were incoming. Paul was also feeling the same as the box f

The main reason was his grandmother's birthday. Last year, heavy rain had delayed his flight, and he couldn't make it home. This year marked her ninetieth birthday—he had to go in person to wish her. He brought me along, grinning. "When she finds out I've found her such a beautiful granddaughter-in-law, she'll be over the moon." I smiled and lightly pushed him away, though I couldn't deny a flicker of nervousness. Originally, I had planned to refuse the trip. He had asked last year, before the storm hit, when I still wasn't fully at ease with him.

As I returned to my hometown, gentle winds brushed my hair, the scent of grass and soil tickling my nose. I'd wandered far away from home in my early years, but time out there had made me wiser. Now, I understood that home was where I chose to stay. A storm had passed, and old leaves had fallen. When spring came, new shoots would sprout. I would be there, basking in the sunlight, while the scent of flowers fluttered in the air. Life was good.

But this time, I was sitting inside a warm car, and someone was waiting for me to come home to him. I didn't have to get caught in the rain every time. I didn't have to forgive everyone who wronged me every time. However, failing nine times didn't mean I couldn't start over again. Adrian asked me if it was worth it. I said that it wasn't. He asked me again if I was happy now. I said that I wasn't too sure. But there was one thing that I was very sure of, and it was that I didn't have to go to the police station again at 2:00 am anymore.

Final. Rain’s stomach twisted. She backed away quietly, careful not to make a sound. She knew what this meant, peace wasn’t coming. They were standing in the calm between storms, pretending the wind wasn’t already shifting. That night, she couldn’t stay inside. The walls were too close, too well filled with memories and whispers. She walked out into the courtyard. The air was cool and the grass was wet due to the morning rain. The moon was low and full, and its light optimistically covered the training field.