Secrets

The Arrogance of Options: Losing Love in the Pursuit of More
I don’t know if I’m writing this out of guilt, regret, or simply because enough time has passed to finally see clearly what I did. For nine years, I was with the same woman since we were students, long before I had money, a good car, or a flat that felt like an achievement. She loved me when I was nobody. And then, when I became somebody, at least in my own eyes, I left her. Not because she failed me, but because I convinced myself I deserved more. Now, after exploring everything I thought I was missing, I understand the cruel irony: the very thing I discarded in pursuit of happiness was the only thing that could have given it to me.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions
The Secret I Carried for Fourteen Years
I am writing this from a throwaway account because I am about to describe something I have kept secret for fourteen years. I understand that sharing it may violate a nondisclosure agreement, and I recognize the seriousness of that decision. I am not sharing names, dates, locations, or details that could identify the people involved. I am sharing it because the memory has remained with me, and because I can no longer pretend that it was simply another piece of business.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions
Beach Canaries
Introduction This is another story on Seven Days In that is getting a lot of attention, and I noticed most of my recent fiction has been quite dark, and I wanted something that wasn't dark so this is a placeholder that will not disturb anyone.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 2 months ago in Confessions
The Underwear That Wasn't Mine
Let's be real, because I think that's the only mode left to me now. My girlfriend found another woman's underwear in my room, and the world I had carefully constructed out of lies and comfortable silences came crashing down around me in the span of about thirty seconds. She held them up, looked at me, and I watched something behind her eyes go dark. She said I was cheating. She said I was a liar. She called me a piece of shit. And here's the thing I need to say out loud, even if it burns my throat to say it: she wasn't wrong. Not about any of it. Every accusation landed because every accusation was true, and the only reason I'm flinching is that I never actually prepared for the day the truth would be spoken aloud in my own bedroom, held up in her shaking hand like a piece of evidence in a trial I'd been trying to avoid for months.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions
The Scratch I Couldn't Own Up To
I got my driver’s license only a few days before the accident. I was excited to finally have the freedom that came with driving, but I was also nervous. I was still learning how to judge distances, control the car in tight spaces, and park without second-guessing every movement. I wanted to feel confident, but the truth was that I was still a beginner.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions
The Morning My Gut Told Me Something Was Wrong
My wife and I live in a row of duplexes. Here, everybody's kids end up playing in everybody's yard at some point. I know which kid belongs to which house, their parents by name, and which ones aren't supposed to leave the yard without a grown-up watching. I’m aware of my living environment like that.
By Dadson Wanjohi 2 months ago in Confessions
Bastard
Bastard You hated me before you ever knew me. When I met you there was a chemistry, a tango between us and we both felt it. Only one of us mistook it for love. The first night I saw you I thought “He’s exactly my type.” You’re the exact replica of what I would typically go for. The bass of your voice shook my soul. There was an innocence you embodied.. Played shy in the beginning, then I discovered the demonic tendencies. I stayed even though I should have ran. I lingered, waiting for you to change for me.. You don’t. I was silly, delusional, and desperate for someone to love. I don’t regret any of it. Like a rose my love for you grew, but you cut my stems and left me to fend for myself. You switched up the roles and you began to be my biggest enemy. It all started when I told you I was pregnant. I was naive… Thinking that you would love me if I carried your child, but you don’t. It’s as if you started to hate me even more. When I realized you’d never love me I let go of hoping for love, but I started to grow it within myself. So thank you, bastard, for not being anything I needed. That deep voice you carry used to put me in a trance. The love spell you casted upon me is gone and now I see your true colors. You were both a curse and a blessing, but now you’re nothing to me. Quite frankly you are dead to me; I know everyone told me not to wish death upon you, so I won’t. I wish you the life you deserve.
By Nala2 months ago in Confessions
The Conversation I Didn't Know I Needed With Josh
Josh has been my workmate for a couple of years now. He’s one of those guys who quietly became a real friend at some point, and I looked back and went, "hang on a minute, he's a proper mate" well after the fact. My car died on the side of the road once in the middle of nowhere and he drove twenty miles to come and pick me up.
By Dadson Wanjohi 2 months ago in Confessions
I have never wanted boys
That is the simplest way to say it, and the one my friends like least. They send me screenshots of twenty-two-year-olds with gym selfies and captions about “good vibes only.” I look at the pictures and feel nothing except a faint, embarrassed pity, like watching someone try to parallel park in a space that was never going to fit them. Their hands are still learning how to be hands. Their mouths are still practicing being mouths. I want something that has already decided what it is.
By Chahat2 months ago in Confessions
Surprise!
Dad was great at playing innocent and feigning ignorance of anything he did wrong. Anything he ever did paled in comparison to one particular weekend. In later years, I thought about those days, and our naiveté seemed astounding. We were so blinded by fear of Dad that we took everything he said at face value. It was better not to argue, so we didn’t. Not questioning him taught us some bitter lessons.
By Alexandra Grant2 months ago in Confessions
Weight of Emotional Betrayal and the Guilt That Follows
I'm 21, and I'm looking for honest opinions because I keep going back and forth in my head. I was dating my ex. Let's call her Rat. She genuinely loved me in a way that was incredibly caring and selfless. She was always there for me, always put me first, and I never had to question whether she loved me. Looking back, I don't think I'll ever doubt that she truly cared about me.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions
Silence at the Water's Edge
I was standing a few meters away from a man who was drowning. I saw the signs: the struggle, the silent gasping for air, before he sank. It was unmistakable. It was the kind of thing you recognize immediately if you've ever seen it before or if you've ever imagined what it would look like. But I didn't act. Not right away. Not when I should have.
By Mark Lim 2 months ago in Confessions