Tragic Backstory Examples Novels & Stories

Everyone said I was too possessive when it came to my girlfriend, Amanda Crane. When Amanda first started taking photos of her childhood friend, Ian Lewis, I ripped apart all the rolls of film. When she helped him fix his computer, I called her 100 times in an hour. And when he called her from the airport, asking her to pick him up because the rain made it impossible to get a cab, I held a knife to my throat. I told her I'd take my own life if she went to him. Fed up, Amanda shipped me off to a psychiatric hospital that same night. When I got out, I vanished. Amanda was certain I was hiding somewhere, spying on her and Ian, but I never showed up—until the celebration party for a business project three years later. Ian put his arm around Amanda and swirled the wine glass he was holding. He shot me a taunting look, remarking, "You used to get so jealous, Steven. I'm sure you no longer mind if Mandy and I drink from the same glass now, right?" He waited for me to go berserk the way I used to three years ago, but I simply moved the bottle of wine closer to them. "I don't mind at all, of course. Have as many glasses as you want. It's great to see that your relationship has been progressing so well." Amanda paused. Her eyes started to redden. She stared fixedly at me and questioned, "Why don't you feel jealous anymore, Steven?"

After being Conan Stone’s secretary and girlfriend for seven years, he was going to be engaged to someone else. Ninian Springs was dejected. She was going to resign, but he decided to cancel the engagement in public. During the auction, just when everyone thought that Conan was going to propose to Ninian, his crush showed up. When everyone saw that Ninian had the exact same face as Conan’s crush, they began to whisper. At that moment, Ninian finally realized: she was just a replacement.

Before my engagement, a fire broke out in my dressing room. The explosion sent shards of glass deep into my body. My best friend, Monica Addams, shielded me as we escaped the flames.  At the hospital, she stayed by my side as I clung to life.  She called my fiancé, James Miller. However, his response was dismissive. “Veronica isn’t feeling well, and I’m accompanying her to get an IV drip. If it’s no big deal, just drop it.” Furious, Monica unleashed a string of curses and called her own boyfriend, Lucas Smith, asking him to help find a specialist.  He brushed her off, too. “Stop overreacting. Veronica’s sick, so I’m getting her some medicine.” When I narrowly escaped death and met Monica’s gaze, I said in a low voice, “I want to call off the engagement.” Without hesitation, she responded, “If you end yours, I’ll end mine.” That was when both men panicked. 

Alex and I grew up together. Both of us loved each other. He told me since I was little that I was his only Luna. When I was eighteen, we became each other's mates by the Moon Goddess's divine decree. He swore before the entire pack that he would love me, protect me, and that I would be his only Luna. Last month, I realized he had cheated. The other pack members knew about this, but they kept it secret too. I pretended not to notice it and continued to play along as mates who were in love. Meanwhile, after praying to the Moon Goddess to sever our mate bond and my personal information, I left that place. But Alex regretted it.

Once upon a time, Kayla thought she and Winston would be together until the day they died. She would never have expected them to take separate paths so soon. After retrieving her diagnosis report, she sees him holding another woman in his arms. A final tear trickles down her face. She's tired and doesn't want to use whatever time she has left to argue with him. She makes the arrangements for everything that will happen after her death. Then, she prepares a final gift for Winston. From this day onward, she'll leave for the afterworld while he remains on Earth. They won't see each other again.

I spent five years by Casey Fusco's side, turning him from a beggar in the slums to a mafia Don. On the second day he put on the family ring, his first love came knocking on our door with an ultrasound report. Casey pushed the divorce papers toward me with a sorry look on his face. "She's pregnant. I have to give her the position of Donna." My brethren tried to talk me out of doing something foolish, since I had nearly lost my life while trying to help him climb up the ranks. But contrary to their expectations, all I did was sign the papers calmly without making a fuss. "Congratulations on having your wish come true, Don Fusco."

After being attacked by a rogue wolf and poisoned by wolfsbane, I didn't want my Alpha to sense my humiliation or pain. So, I chose to sever our bond—temporarily, at least. A week later, I dragged my still-ailing body back, only to discover that my Alpha, Liam Morgan, was entangled in my bed with my younger sister—Lily Manning, the little princess of the Moruna Pack. He hurried to reassure me. "Tania, this was just a mistake. My Luna will only ever be you." I met Lily's provocative gaze. I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I didn't argue. Liam let out a breath of relief. "Good. You're calm and dignified. That's how the mistress of a pack should behave." He was wrong. I wasn't calm, and I wasn't being dignified. From this moment on, I simply erased him—completely—from my world.

On the day my love fades away for good, I've finally learned something about my mate, Ethan Langley. He's not hopeless when it comes to directions—he just can't remember which path it is that leads to me. Ethan is the Alpha of the pack, whereas I'm his mate. We've been mates for ten years. But whenever I need him, he always gets lost. On the day of our marking ceremony, Ethan got lost in the pack territory. Because of that, the ceremony was delayed for another three days. Every year on the marking anniversary, Ethan would always get lost. The food in the evening banquet I always prepared would always go stone cold. When I was eight months pregnant with my pup, I sent an SOS message to him through the mind-link after I suffered from a bad fall. While Ethan screamed at me that he'd be there through the mind-link, he was physically lost in the pack territory for five hours. By the time our packmates came to my rescue, my pup was already dead. As I lay on the stone bed in the healing center, my packmates came over to comfort me. "Ethan can't navigate at all to save his life. He didn't do this on purpose. Don't get mad at him, okay? You two will still have pups in the future." I could only nod in a daze. But on the day we were supposed to attend our pup's funeral, I realized that Ethan was familiar with the road when he was behind the wheel in the SUV. He even took a detour just to drop by the residence of Lyria Jeffries, a female Beta. "Elena, there's still some time before the funeral starts. I'm going to send Lyria home first so that she can visit her family." Before I could object, the car had already stopped right outside Lyria's residence. Lyria got into the front passenger seat as though it was the most natural thing to do in the world. She wore a bright smile as she said, "Look at how well I've groomed you, Ethan! If you ever forget the way to my place, I'll make sure to skin you alive!" Only then did Lyria notice me, who sat in the backseat. She pretended to be bashful as she stuck out her tongue. "I was just kidding, Elena." I endured Lyria's "harmless" quips with a stony expression. But right after Ethan dropped Lyria off, he forgot the way to the funeral immediately. Because of that, the funeral was delayed by half an hour. As I held my pup's tiny urn, I felt my heart sinking into the pits of my stomach. It turns out that there exists someone who can be exempted from Ethan's hopeless sense of direction. It's just that… my pup and I are never the exception.

My once best friend posted a photo on her social media account on the tenth anniversary of my marriage. In the photo, her daughter and my son were wrapped in my husband's and her arms. The caption said, 'The perfect pair.' I commented, 'Perfect indeed.' Soon, the post was deleted. The next day, my husband rushed home and asked me, "Sophie is finally recovering. Why are you provoking her?" My son even pushed me and accused me, "It's all your fault for making Tammy cry." I took out the divorce papers and threw them in their faces. "Well, it's my fault, so I quit your perfect family of four."

Everyone in Harbor City knew I had a wife whom everyone envied. Not only was she a wealthy heiress, but a celebrated lawyer, untouchable and elegant. However, in private, she was a delicate, devoted wife. I had planned to tell her the truth on our wedding anniversary—that I was the heir to one of Jinmist City's most powerful families—and take her home. However, on her birthday, I walked in on her being pinned to a car and forcefully kissed by her new assistant, with pieces of her torn clothing scattered everywhere. I lost control. The assistant ended up in the ICU, and I ended up in court. To my shock, my wife turned on me in court, falsely accusing me of malicious assault, while saying nothing about the assistant’s attempt. I was sentenced to three years in prison. In the visitation room, I demanded answers, but she remained calm. “You’re my husband. Even if you go to prison, I still love you.” “But Daniel is different. He comes from a poor family. If he’s charged with attempted assault, his life would be ruined forever.” At that moment, my hope shattered. Fine. If she didn’t want the title of wife to the Millers' heir, I’d just have to take it back.