Posted by Unknown

 (banner made by Bethany)

Edward Cullen has been raised with strong morals and very antiquated beliefs. Still, he takes advantage of his good looks and the effect he has on women and indulges in numerous one-night-stands. However, when spends a drunken night with his best friend resulting in a pregnancy, he is pressured into marrying her. Unsurprisingly, the marriage has been less than perfect from the very beginning. Though his wife has been in love with him for years, Edward never reciprocated those feelings. Still, he decided at an early stage that he would try to make this relationship work, if for nothing else than the sake of their son. What he didn't expect was to meet young, witty, and spunky Bella Swan at a bar and to start steamy affair with her...

Bella Swan is a young working woman, who uses her sexuality to her favor. She avoids relationships at all costs, looking for nothing but friends with benefits. With limitations, of course. Everything seemed to be lining up in her life until a bronze haired man with an unignorable wedding band walks into it. What started out as a sexual affair for both of them turns out to be so much more, but there are many obstacles preventing them from really being together. The biggest obstacle is Edward himself, who adamantly refuses to leave his wife even though he's head over heels in love with Bella.

Don't fooled by the title! Not Meant To Be is not a tragedy, though it's a slow burn and it takes a while for Bella and Edward's relationship to really blossom. When I started reading, I was very hesitant at first as the title leads you to believe there is no happily-ever-after for the couple. But as I continued reading, I came to realize pretty quickly that it's not only a beautifully written story with little to no grammatical errors but also going to have a happy ending. There are many, many steamy lemons as well as tear jerking moments in this story that is completely written from Bella's POV. So I would definitely recommend having tissues nearby just in case!

Not Meant To Be consists of 30 chapters and 170,605 words. Rated M for sexual content, infidelity, and language. A collection of outtakes from Edward's point of view can be found here.

COMPLETE

If you know any other platforms this story has been published at, please let us know by either sending an email to swansbookstore@gmail.com or leaving a message in the comment section. Thank you!

Posted by Anonymous

It was supposed to be nothing but a fun weekend, but it turned out to be so much more! When Edward Cullen awakes with a mind-numbing headache he knows that he must have had a wild night. Once his vision starts to normalize and he sits in the bathroom, waiting for the vomiting to begin, a few memories come back to him. He remembers, for example, that his cousin Emmett came up with the idea to spend an impromptu-weekend in Las Vegas - only four weeks before Edward would graduate from college. So while that actually might not have been the best idea, Edward nonetheless agrees to join the trip when he hears that Emmett's friend and Edward's long-time crush, Bella Swan, will be there as well.

Imagine his surprise when he finds said Bella Swan lying in his bed! And if that wouldn't be confusing enough, Edward also notices a white wedding band on his ring finger. Panicking he grabs some clothes, leaves the room, and runs straight over to the suite of Emmett and Rosalie. And they confirm his worst nightmare: Edward had married Bella yesterday evening. Apparently, both had been absolutely wasted and no matter how often their friends had tried to prevent the worst from happening, the two insisted on a chapel wedding in Vegas. So what now? While Edward studies in Boston, Bella has her life in Tennessee. They soon realize that they have feelings for each other but are unsure whether it's enough to stay married and not file for divorce instead. And worst of all, how will the parents react? To hell with 'What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!'!

Ony Hazy Night is a very well written short-story that you will most likely read in one sitting! Though the plot centers around an often used cliché - waking up married in Las Vegas - the characters deal rather realistically with the whole situation. That they are both wearing wedding bands now does not mean that Edward and Bella suddenly realize their true feelings for each other, far from it. While Bella is pretty sure she'd like to see where this thing with Edward is going, he is a lot more skeptical and only reluctantly agrees to give it a try. Interestingly enough, in the end, it will be the long distance between them that will get them closer! An angst-free short story with a nice lemon in the end and a few funny moments in between!

One Hazy Night consists of 11 chapters and 18,977 words. The story is rated M for description of sexual situations and profanities.

COMPLETE