Write about a successful marriage proposal, or one that goes horribly wrong.

Posted in Valentine's Day on Feb 9, 2024

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✍️ 45 stories

“Love Me, Love Me Not” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #237

TW: Mental health, mention of sex“Oh crap,” I whisper as the morning sun’s rays come pouring into the large bay windows of my room, piercing my eyeballs with so much light that I could feel my irises sweat.Geez, why is the sun up so high, so early. Damn it, it’s February in bloody Barnet. Shouldn’t I still be waking up to a jet black sky littered with twinkling stars at six in the morning? Why has the cool, chilly breeze blowing from the Arctic that has caressed me for the past couple of months been replaced by the burning lasers from hell? ...

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“Aunt Cass” by K.A. Murray

Submitted to Contest #237

If I felt anything for the man sitting across from me at the dinner table, it would have been an incredibly romantic evening.The restaurant was dimly lit, we’d each had two glasses of red wine, there was a string quartet playing a lovely tune at the center of the dining room, and Samuel looked handsome that night. Well, for him. His suit was a size too big and he had gotten a weird haircut that week, but he’d never looked better.“Champagne?” he asked me.Dear God, I thought to myself. He did not put the ring in a champagne glass.Three minutes...

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“Jakob and Leena” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #237

“Jakob?”“Yes, Leena.”“Did you get the newspaper? It should be here by now.”“Not today, my love. You were so tired.”“I’m never too tired to read to you.”In sixty years, Jakob had never won an argument with his wife, and he was sure he wasn’t going to win this one either. He went to the front door, opened it, and picked up the daily newspaper from the mat.A generation prior, Jakob’s and Leena’s parents came from Uglich, a rural Russian town. Their families had lived three streets apart, yet were strangers until the day Jakob first met Leena at...

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“Valentiming” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #237

“Never in a month of honest Sunday mornings would I marry you!” Desmond Whittiker balanced precariously on one knee with both arms outstretched, his hands cradling the engagement ring box open for inspection. This moment was the culmination of several months in the planning, and a secret their shared circle of friends kept amongst themselves until the surprise was hatched. Not only significant because of the date, it was also the birthday of the proposal recipient, Amanda. “Desi” and “Mandi” had been introduced to each other through mutual...

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“Believe It or Not” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #237

Ripley, man! People don’t know about Ripley. Robert Ripley. Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Spitting image of Elmer J. Fudd. Remember “Merrie Melodies?” Probably not, right? A doddering Elmer J. Fudd would say, over the radio, “I don’t believe it.” That’s how we felt about artificial intelligence for the longest time.Until we all fell in love with it. Then there was no talking to us. You can’t unbelieve in a thing. That’s a flaw of humanity. You know?Anyway, I believed I loved Katya. Even before it was on trend. I even believe she is a real girl...

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“Love Will Tear Chad Apart” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #237

The blue ocean shimmered and sloshed against the underwater hotel room’s window.Brooke Goodmane’s heart trilled hard and fast. Chad had been gone for a few minutes now, giving her time to think. The holiday, the fancy hotel, it was all too much. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She needed time to find herself and discover what she wanted from life. But she didn’t want to hurt the man who loved her. If only she felt the same way about him. And now this? Whatever ‘this’ was? Brooke paced back and forth, her hand rubbing a red spot against h...

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“Hopeless Romantics ” by Angela M

Submitted to Contest #237

Before she met Sam, Anna never understood why anyone would want to commit murder. She never thought of herself as the crazy type either. But here she was on a Friday afternoon, stalking her ex-boyfriend’s Venmo account and fantasizing about stabbing him to death. It had been a whole year since he dumped her and blocked her on everything (except Venmo) but the mere thought of him made Anna’s blood boil. She scrolled through his most recent interactions on the app and zoomed in on his new profile picture. This was part of her daily ritual...

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“The Engagement of Emily Baldwin” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #237

Clint:Engagements. When do you do them? Where do you do them? How do you do them? On Valentine’s Day, the holiday of joy and love commercialized to sell chocolate, flowers, and jewelry with a ring in a glass of champaign? During a gathering of family and friends where you can make some grand announcement with a long-winded speech? Traditionally at the place where you met, down on your knees looking for the right words to make the moment epic for your beloved. I guess there is no right time, place, or way, but it all seems so cliché.I knew it...

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“Perfect’s an Ideal” by C.N. Jung

Submitted to Contest #237

“It has to be perfect, Mick. Absolutely perfect!”“Perfect’s an ideal. You’ll never quite get there, man.”Stevie shoot a look at his pal. Mick leaned casually against the doorframe that entered into Stevie’s hotel room, the very picture of chill, as unfazed as one could be.“Cut me some slack on the deep thoughts, Mick. Not now.” Stevie took in a lungful of the salty air. “Tomorrow's gotta go off without a hitch. I’ve poured my heart into getting every detail right for months.” He swiveled around to drink in the view in front of them—a sprawli...

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“The most magical place on Earth” by Taylor Reed

Submitted to Contest #237

Disclaimer: This is a work of creative Non-fiction/fan-fiction, based on a dream proposal since I was a little girl. It’s inspired by my last trip to DisneyWorld, using the brands setting and merchandise in this story. I wish I could explain to her how nervous I’m feeling right now, but that would ruin the surprise. Normally she takes over everything, planning every last detail. It’s been incredibly difficult to coordinate this without her either finding out or letting her know how much stress it’s causing me. What if she says no?...

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“The Love Machine” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #237

The Love Machine “What we have here is failure to communicate.” -The Captain, Cool Hand Luke Christian couldn’t communicate his feelings to Roxanne. John Alden wasn’t ...

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“The Shift” by Fola C

Submitted to Contest #237

Was that blood? Everyone in the crowd had stopped cheering for the match. Joshua was on the floor, his face looked like something was wrong. Her son didn’t look like himself. There was an audible gasp in the stands. His teammates rushed towards him. Marcus was beckoning the coach to come. Her son’s best friend seemed frantic. Ada felt like her breath was starting to simmer. Her son didn’t look like himself. Her strong boy was in pain. “Coach! We need a medic!” Marcus screamed now. The coach came closer and when he saw Jos...

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“100%” by Khadija S. Mohammad

Submitted to Contest #237

"So, who do you think your 100 will be?" Dorro leant over the back of the sofa and whispered into her room-mate's ear. Her casual dress rustled against the sofa's fabric. Lana batted her off with a gentle laugh, not taking her eyes off the wall-clock as it ticked its way to 12:00. "How many times have you asked already?" "I know, I know, but you're getting your list today. They might ask you what kind of man you would prefer to marry." "It's not the 90s, Dorro," Lana said with an indulgent smile. The second hand of the clock seemed to have w...

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“A Box of Broken Crackers and a Shoelace” by Rose Winters

Submitted to Contest #237

I was as broken as a box of crackers… that had been stomped on by an elephant, put in a paper shredder, and dumped down the garbage disposal. Yep. A smidge glum, you might say.The D word. It sucks.First, it's the nauseating "Oh, you poor thing." (Barfing a little as we speak, even now.)Then it's the traumatizing "I have a friend you should meet!" and "Have you tried the new dating site?" which would leave me begging for a samurai harikari sword.I wasn't ready. Men made me want to scream and run away. If a guy looked at me, I'd sort of do a D...

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“Crossing Turtle Creek” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #237

Crossing Turtle Creek I watched the straw dust falling through the gaps in the ancient grey floorboards of the hayloft above. Aroused by our intent, motes of dust, illuminated by the full moon shining through the barn’s open window, jostled for a better position from which to watch. Chickens in their coops tucked their heads beneath their wings in false modesty. I brushed a lock of hair from her face, letting the moon bounce back from her widened eyes. Her electric eyes, neither green nor blue, spawned incandescent sparks deep wit...

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Write about a successful marriage proposal, or one that goes horribly wrong.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“Love Me, Love Me Not” by Alexis Araneta

“Aunt Cass” by K.A. Murray

“Jakob and Leena” by Thom With An H

“Valentiming” by Chris Campbell

“Believe It or Not” by Jonathan Page

“Love Will Tear Chad Apart” by Joshua G. J. Insole

“Hopeless Romantics ” by Angela M

“The Engagement of Emily Baldwin” by Ty Warmbrodt

“Perfect’s an Ideal” by C.N. Jung

“The most magical place on Earth” by Taylor Reed

“The Love Machine” by Murray Burns

“The Shift” by Fola C

“100%” by Khadija S. Mohammad

“A Box of Broken Crackers and a Shoelace” by Rose Winters

“Crossing Turtle Creek” by Timothy Rennels

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a love story without using the word “love.”

Write about a cynical character who somehow ends up on a blind date.

Write a story about a first or last kiss.

Write a story about two people falling in love via email.

Contest #237

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

328

Contest entries

133

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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