Unspeakable Break Up Novels & Stories

"So what are you going to do." Dani turned the mug in her hands. Outside Bri's kitchen window, a lawnmower droned somewhere down the block, and the smell of cut grass drifted in through the screen, and for a second the whole conversation felt impossibly normal, two friends at a table talking about a boy, except the boy held a lap record under a fake name and had cost her four hundred dollars in bet money she still had to explain to her actual bank account. "Nothing," she said. "I'm going to do nothing. I lost the bet. I'm going to eat ramen for a month, I'm going to finish the Nissan, and I'm never going to see him again."

Orlando and I had been together for ten years. I'd looked after his sick mom, sweating out a fever of my own, and where was he? Knocking back drinks with Rosalind, playing therapist to her broken heart. I swallowed my pride at work, getting chewed out by my boss, while he spent the night companying Rosalind because she had cramps. Then, when I got the news my mom had passed, I tried calling him, desperate for support. But nope—phone off. After a wild goose chase, turns out he was at Rosalind's graduation. That was it. I gave up. But Orlando wouldn't let go. Red-eyed, he begged me for just one more chance.

My voice broke, a whisper now. “Maybe I don’t want it anymore.” Jace’s hand tightened gently on my arm, his eyes dark and unreadable. “Then don’t.” The words sliced clean through me, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.

His jaw tightened. -Are you crazy? It's harassment, Luna. Not appropriate at all! -I know, it's just...it'll pass, it's just.... -Years, dear, it's been years since we left school, will it go away - he said looking at her threateningly. Luna looked at him incredulously. James had opened his mouth. "Since we got out of school." -We got out? From school? James snorted. -Let's put the lies behind us. You and I both know this isn't the first time we've met. Get over it. I didn't mention anything out of pure professionalism. -He replied angrily.

I stopped and looked back, puzzled. Seeing the complete lack of recognition in my eyes, Sarah finally broke down, tears streaming down her face. I frowned, got into the car waiting by the curb, and left without hesitation. In the rearview mirror, Sarah's figure, crouched by the roadside sobbing, gradually shrank and disappeared.

My deskmate couldn't help herself and leaned closer, whispering, "What's going on with them?" I cast a calm glance in their direction and replied, "We broke up, that's all." My voice wasn't loud, but it carried far enough. The table fell silent, and several heads turned toward us in surprise. "What? You two were so close—why would you break up?" "Yeah, didn't you plan to get married after university?" "Thor, didn't you love Aisha?" Thor said nothing. His silence was louder than any denial. My chest ached, but I raised my voice just enough. "We just weren't right for each other."

A node of sentiment in his perfect machine. While Mimi engaged Bryce, her voice steady, debating the philosophy of legacy, pulling his brilliant, broken mind into a logical duel, William moved. It wasn’t a calculated strategy, it was a desperate, instinctual lunge. He swept his arm across the glass desk, not at Bryce, but at the photo and its pad. The frame sailed through the air, smashing against the concrete floor. Glass exploded. The charging pad sparked and died. Bryce’s lecture cut off. A raw, animal sound tore from his throat. “CLARA!”

“We divorced a year ago. Of course, I’ve given up.” Ivory slid his hand into mine. A firm, quiet reassurance. “You never sad about the way we ended it?” Elliot sounded not about to give up on the idea of getting back together. “You know what?” I continued, voice like ice, “The sad part wasn’t seeing you and Owen like this or us divorcing. The sad part was realizing I let myself be treated like garbage for so many years.” I walked past him and Owen while my fingers laced with Ivory’s.

Later, I told her the truth that I actually disliked both strawberries and cake. She immediately pulled out her phone, wrote it down in her notes, and promised that she would never forget. It had only been a year, and that promise was already gone. The blazing sun burned my skin, but my heart still felt cold. I gave a bitter laugh, walked back in, and announced that the wedding was canceled. Then, in front of everyone, I cut up the wedding suit I had worn 52 times. That was when I finally realized that it was time to end this five-year relationship for good.

The day after I proposed to my fiancée, she sent me a message out of nowhere saying it was over. I called her over and over, frantic, but she hung up every time. I sent message after message, and she read every one without replying. I even went looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found. It was not until I collapsed onto the couch, completely drained and white as a sheet, that I finally saw a new social media post from her childhood friend. [Only Ellery would actually go through with it. She drew the dare to dump her fiancé cold—no explanation, nothing—and she really did it. Absolute legend!] I read it, then replied to her message: [Got it.]