happen通常不用现在进行时,
你可以这样翻译：the reality always goes against the expectation.
主要强调现实跟意愿之间的违背.things did not happened as to be thought呢这样可以，这句意思是事情的发生不像想象的那样。但只是想象，并非意愿，同时没翻译出事与愿违中的违背的意思。things were not turning out like they were supposed to这句比上句有分量，只是仍旧缺少“违”字的无奈和遗憾。但仍旧能较好的体现你的意思。