Truth After Dark Chicago Novels & Stories

My wife went abroad for a six-month training course and unexpectedly secured a major deal.  Thanks to this contract, she was promoted to director against all odds. When I saw the news of her return in the work group chat, I immediately ordered flowers to pick her up at the airport. However, her belly, which would have been eight months pregnant, showed no signs of it. She had aborted our child, turning me into a laughingstock among colleagues. Just as I tried to swallow my anger, she told me she was pregnant with someone else’s child. She demanded that I step aside and make way for her.

I had spent my whole life living in the shadow of my sister, Juliana, the woman everyone in the mafia's heir circle adored and protected. She had no idea that I had been reborn. Just like in my previous life, she smiled sweetly and gently, insisting that I pick my fiancé first, pretending to be thoughtful and gracious. However, this time, I refused. In my previous life, I naïvely believed she meant well. I married the man she recommended, Chester Kane, an heir who was said to have been paralyzed after an ambush. I gave up my right to inherit the family, becoming his caretaker, his crutch, the medicine he used to fight loneliness. However, no matter how much warmth I gave him, his heart remained frozen. The truth only came out during my sister's pregnancy celebration. When an assassin from a rival family raised his gun toward her belly, the man who had not stood in years suddenly rose to his feet. He shoved me toward the muzzle of the gun. All seven bullets tore into my womb. As I collapsed, I saw him pull my sister into his arms, shielding her with his own body and taking the final shot for her. Only then did I understand. He had never been paralyzed. His family had never abandoned him. He pretended to be sick because Juliana's heart belonged to another man, and he refused to be tied to me. "I'm sorry, Tania," he said. "I lied to you. However, I couldn't let Juliana lose the heir she's carrying. I'll repay what I owe you in our next life." When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father asked us to choose our marriage partners. This time, I chose no one. Yet back then, they were the ones who begged for my love.

On Valentine’s Day, my boyfriend gave me a rock he picked up off the street, while his one true love received a massive diamond. The moment I found out, I broke up with him. He immediately confessed his love to her. Three years later, we ran into each other at a luxury golf club. When he saw me snacking on desserts in the VIP lounge, my ex-boyfriend couldn't stop mocking me. “Millia, you dumped me because that rock wasn’t good enough. Do you ever regret it, especially now that you’re working as a waitress?” Even the staff joined in, spreading rumors that I was just trying to land a rich husband at the club. But the second my husband showed up, everyone was completely dumbfounded. My ex-boyfriend begged for another chance, desperate to win me back, while his so-called one true love ended up behind bars.

Once upon a time, Leonard truly loved me. In order to establish a Mate Bond with me, he confessed 99 times. On the 99th time, I was finally moved. On the day of our Marking Ceremony, I gave him 99 forgiveness coupons. I promised him that I would forgive him 99 times. As long as he still had coupons left over, I would forgive him and stay with him no matter what he did. We were bonded for six years. In the first five years of our Mate Bond, I rarely ever used the forgiveness coupons. Since his childhood friend Judy returned, however, I started burning through the coupons. When I tore up the 98th coupon, Leonard noticed that I had changed. I no longer made a fuss or fought him over Judy. I simply asked him calmly, “If you go to Judy, can I use up one forgiveness coupon?” Leonard paused and then recovered his cool. “Sure. I only used up slightly over half, so use another if you want.” I stayed silent as he left the house. As it turned out, he had no idea he had just lost his 98th coupon. He only had one chance left. After that, I would leave him forever.

Warning: This story is strictly 18+ and contains multiple sex scenes. ___ Nyx had a crush on her best friend, Lynn since high school, and now in college, she hoped he would look her way once. However, he would always go back, running back to his toxic girlfriend. But after a weekend trip, it took a few buttons to make her scream out a new name, like she hadn't hoped for Lynn for years. Ron, a possessive sex god, lusted after Nyx, and his sole purpose was to take her away from his niece, shamelessly and boundlessly. He went right into her class, appearing as her professor to sway her. Nyx couldn't help the dangerous attraction she felt for him, thirsting every minute he stood teaching until she was spread right on his table.

Jacques struggled hard to get out of the small town filled with gangs not only to improve her life, but also to get away from 'him' - the one she calls 'The Monster'. She had offended him by breaking the friendship with his little sister. She thought she escaped it all when years passed and she settled in the city. A nice job, a lovely boyfriend, a small home for them... She thought she had what she needed. She almost forgot about 'him'. But then he came back in her life for his sister, and took everything away from her. Her boyfriend, her little home, her freedom, and to her dismay he even took the child in her belly. He is a self-made man although he is from a powerful family. He has attained everything he has, working hard with his own hands. He has plans, He has secrets. But for him, she is the moon. She is his first love. She came to him one noisy night and he couldn't forget her from then. But every time he tries to get close to her, she suffers as if they are not meant to be. He wanted to stay away from her to not see her suffer. He did stay away from her for years. But when a chance presented itself pushing her to him, he couldn't stay back and tried to get close to her. And he got close to her to help her, but then he made her lose her child unwittingly.

Raymond Lorenzo demanded everything. In the courtroom, under flashing cameras and public scrutiny, Jake Leon gave it to him… his shares, his power… all his life’s work. 3 years of marriage ended in a single decision. The divorce of the century. Eighteen months later, Raymond has everything he fought for; Full control of Elite Valley Tech, influence, and a name feared in every boardroom. But every power comes at a price. Because soon, a global criminal network is traced back to his company, and a dangerous mafia syndicate places a bounty on him after the fall of their leader. Raymond comes to the realization that it's he’s no longer untouchable. With no family to turn to and enemies closing in, there’s only one person who can save him. The man he pushed to the mud. Jake Leon. But Jake isn’t the same man who walked out of that courtroom. And this time, forgiveness isn’t part of the deal. Forced back under the same roof, bound by revenge, power, and unfinished emotions. will they destroy each other completely… Or uncover a truth neither of them was ready to face?

Ethan Westwood is a effective wolf from the alpha bloodline, who has inconvenience finding his mate and has to go against his parent approximately taking another she-wolf as his mate. Mia Dalton is a powerless human who lives beneath her injurious stepfather after her assenting mother died. In the course of getting away from her stepfather, she meets Ethan profound interior the forest. Ethan finds that Mia is his mate but was put in a colossal situation since the werewolf clan prohibit them from having a human mate. In spite of the dissatisfaction of the seniors, Ethan acknowledges Mia as his mate not dreading what the results might be. The werewolves fear that the taboo relationship between Ethan and Mia might bring devastation that was anticipated by the diviner to the clan but Ethan denied to follow to their plea. Will the relationship between them bring the annihilation to the clan or will it spare the clan from the devastation?

Three years ago, Emily married Aaron out of gratitude. She truly believed he respected her, cared for her, maybe even loved her. It wasn’t until later that she realized—he had never really let go of his ex. And the craziest part? She looked just like her. Time and time again, he left her behind for that woman. And finally, Emily understood something. A thousand days and nights couldn’t warm a heart that was never hers to begin with. All along, he had only been looking through her… searching for someone else in her shadow. If he didn’t love her, then so be it. She was done trying. But after the divorce, he came back—saying she was the one he truly cared about all along. His eyes full of regret, chasing after what he lost— But Emily just laughed. She wasn’t that quiet, invisible wife from three years ago anymore.

Claire Hart loved her husband, Fabian Arrow, for seven years with unwavering devotion. She believed their quiet marriage—free of passion but rich in stability—was built on mutual trust and unspoken understanding. Even when affection faded into routine, Claire convinced herself that love did not need to be loud to be real. She was wrong. On the day everything finally fractures, Claire discovers that Fabian has been secretly reconnecting with his first love, Maxine Wells. What begins as emotional distance soon reveals itself as betrayal—but the deepest wound comes from an innocent voice. Claire overhears her young daughter, Susie, wishing that Maxine were her real mother, and Maxine calmly promising to make that wish come true. In that moment, Claire reaches her breaking point. Without confrontation or drama, she walks away from a marriage she fought alone to save. What she leaves behind is not just a husband, but a life built on silent endurance and misplaced hope. As Fabian slowly realizes that love is not something that can be replaced or postponed, regret comes too late. Claire, determined to reclaim herself, crosses paths once more with Aaron White—a man from her past who once loved her deeply and never truly let her go. With Aaron, Claire begins to understand what love looks like when it is patient, present, and chosen every day. Torn between a past that broke her and a future that promises healing, Claire must decide whether love deserves a second chance—or whether the bravest choice is to let go and move forward. After the Breaking Point is a poignant story of betrayal, self-worth, and rediscovering love after loss, proving that sometimes the end of one love story is the beginning of a far greater one.