Unbowed A Memoir Novels & Stories

… Every trace of me had already been erased from the wedding home. In my wedding diary, I had written my final entries in advance. "Wedding countdown: two days. I finally understand. People must learn to love themselves first. It's not that I'm unworthy of love, but that you are unworthy of me. There was never anything wrong with me."

"Feel free to drop by the store anytime. Sometimes a bit of kindness and a good belly laugh are all we need." His words settled into me. They never left. That day became a turning point, a flicker of light inside all that tangled, aching dark. Piece by piece, I built something new. I shaped a life in unfamiliar soil, unsure if it would take root. But I held onto Old Man Sam’s kindness. Still do. Standing at the memorial now, I tried to stay here. Present. Not buried in the past. Focused on what’s next. The future Andrew and I were about to build.

He thought back to the past, and he saw Naomi working diligently in the office six years ago in his mind's eye. Naomi had been his first female secretary. She was highly competent, attentive, and had never once made any careless mistakes on the job. Additionally, she had cared for him meticulously in his daily life. After the car accident left him paralyzed, she had stayed by his side without complaint. Without her encouragement and care, he wouldn't have recovered so quickly. That night, he had been drunk and forced himself on her. So, why had he stubbornly believed she had seduced him on purpose?

“Mr. Grayson did nothing wrong.” Silence enveloped the room, the weight of my words hanging heavily in the air. Gabriel’s jaw clenched, and I could see the flash of anger in his eyes, but I held my ground. I wouldn’t let my memories drown me; I had to stand firm, even if it felt like I was betraying myself. The officer leaned back in her chair, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Nothing? You’re saying this man didn’t harm you in any way?”

The blood smeared all over my face startled a kind-hearted passerby, who had woken me. With every ounce of strength, I pushed myself up, my head feeling as heavy as a lead ball. The passerby asked if I needed an ambulance, but I shook my head, declining his offer. I forced my battered body to make it to the hospital on my own. As dawn broke, warmth began to seep into my frozen limbs. After registering with a few other doctors, I sat quietly waiting. When Keith White spotted me sitting alone on a bench in the corridor, confusion spread across his face. "Why are you sitting here? Are you not feeling well?"

Well, the guns aren’t gonna cock and shoot by itself, it’s time for some action. “But wait! You are a minor!” Who cares? this is a war! This will be the tale of how we face the unforgiving world.

It feels like I'm in a coma that has been bedridden for a year. While waiting for the people I have felt, I suddenly remembered the things that I had done last night. My body is uncontrolled at that time, it seems like someone is controlling my body. I couldn't still forget how my hands pierced through those Wolves I killed and snatched their beating heart out of their body. I can still remember how I badly wanna kill that Beta who used to be my parents' friend, and he still dares to make me treat him as my father. That wench is so disgusting.

Not just for herself, but for countless others who had endured shadows like hers. Her memoir, Shards into Stars, had taken two years to write and just two weeks to rocket to the top of bestseller lists. People read it not for the scandal, it barely lingered on Ethan’s cruelty, but for its marrow-deep honesty about survival, about the way broken things could be remade without pretending the cracks didn’t exist.

I stood straight and planted my hands on my hips. "Aurelia, you're cute and I'm glad you want to fight for me but it's of no use. These scars were part of my initiation. I got these scars when my father faked my kidnapping when I was sixteen. He got some of his men whom I didn't know to kidnap me and they tried to force me to betray my familia, it was a brutal two days and these scars were just the least of what happened to me. I survived though and I didn't betray the Omerta. My father was proud and I was initiated. I'm not ashamed of these scars, I wear them with pride because they remind me of how strong I am and that no one can break me, no matter how hard they try."