I told myself the lie so many times it started to feel like truth. It's just a trip. It's just a drink. It's just to prove he's real. Six months. That's how long it had been since the first video call. Since I came on camera while my husband's truck rumbled into the driveway. Since I learned I could split myself in two—good wife in the daylight, his girl after dark. Caleb and I had fallen into a rhythm. Late nights when m...

The bustling university halls echoed with the chatter of excited students, but for Ava, the first day was a whirlwind of anxiety. Her heart raced as she clutched her books, palms slick with sweat. Every unfamiliar face seemed to judge her fumbling. Mr. Blackwood noticed from the front of the lecture hall. His sharp eyes, framed by stylish glasses, tracked her nervous fidgeting as she scrawled notes, fingers trembling. Whe...

Alex had been ignoring the maddening drip from her kitchen sink for weeks. At first, it was just background noise, something she'd learned to tune out. But lately the sound had twisted into torment — sharp, deliberate plink-plinks echoing through the stillness of her mornings. Each drop filled her head, nagging, insistent, teasing. Frustrated, she slammed her cup down on the counter and pulled up a plumbing service on her...