Till Death, A Bloody Vow

et dark: "Till death do us part." For fifteen years, that promi

ile she called to announce her pregnancy. He chos

rding of him calling me "a closed

ho can't give you a f

wedding gift: a file detailing the t

t. He orchestrated it to break me, and in the

the file was his o

as infertile. He was.

pte

Taylo

Carson acted for m

ember not the event itself, but the deafening silence that followed, a sudden vacuum that seemed to absorb all the air from tha

the eyes of a terrified boy. They were calm, almost serene. As they escorted him out, he

smile spread a

pered, the words carrying across the

pressed against a thick partition, our futures planned in hushed tones over a monitored line. The day he returned, h

ng. He was the charismatic face, the ruthless shark who could smell opportunity from a mile away. I was the strategist be

that difficult night. Our bond wasn't just love; it was a pact sealed in trauma. On our wedding day, stand

ed me. "This bond we have," he said, his voice a low current o

tanding the weight of the unsp

re, the unspoken threat that hung in the air of every boardroom and every whis

it w

A meticulously curated collection spanning years. All of the same girl. A girl with wide, innocent

uilty. He leaned back in his leather chair, the skyline of the c

Cassie. A diversion

angerously low, a coiled snake ready to strike. The stack of printed

," he said, waving

teenager cowering in a trailer. I pushed a single sheet of paper across the desk.

t looked at me, a flicker of some

isn't a ne

that possessive growl I knew so well. "You see

ade by children who d

mise you made to him in return." He stood up, towering over me, and repeated the words that had once be

of tearing paper filling the silent office. Then he wal

known number. I answered, a sick fee

e on the other end. "

?" I asked,

"I just wanted to call and... well, to thank you. Adam talks about yo

y knuckles white as

g her tone. "He felt so bad. See, he's been obsessed with me for a while

ath hi

spiratorially. "He's so sad you're upset. He really d

m kissing her neck as she smiled at the camera. At a gala I was supposed to attend with him, him whispering in her ear in a se

of Avery's hand resting on her flat stomach. On her finger was

followed was

he could never give you.

er me

t, Cassie. But soon, he'll be c

My gaze fell upon the chaos I had wrought-a landscape of scattered papers and overturne

dst the wreckage, the

only be

red a war he coul