The Vow I Never Took
Lena Carter wakes up to a life she doesn’t recognize. A ring on her finger. A marriage contract she doesn’t remember signing. And a husband she’s never met—Nathan Hale, the ruthless new president of Hale Group.
She was supposed to be engaged to her longtime boyfriend, David Langford. But at what should have been her perfect proposal, a stranger walked in and called her his wife. The contract is ironclad—three years of marriage before she can even consider divorce. Nathan offers only one explanation:
“You asked me to marry you, Lena. You just don’t remember.”
Determined to uncover the mystery, Lena dives into her past, only to find blanks where her memories should be.
Someone erased her past. Someone wanted her to forget.
What really happened during her business trip to Las Vegas? Why did her powerful parents support the marriage without question? And why is David—once the man she loved—suddenly desperate to destroy her?
Trapped in a dangerous game of power, deception, and secrets, Lena must figure out the truth before it’s too late. Because someone wanted her to forget that night. And if she remembers—she might not live to tell the story.
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Chapter: I Kiss Her Again Nathan POV She's wearing a coat the colour of wood. The first thing I notice is her makeup. Lena doesn't usually wear makeup, but this time, she has the entire thing covering her face. The angles of her face has been coloured to an edge; the blush in her cheeks is a deep, vibrant pink. Her lips are the colour of blood. It's not that she's less beautiful. Quite the opposite. She's beautiful, but in a different way. The Lena I know doesn't wear her beauty like a bludgeon. This time, she is. She's wearing a blond wig, and she pulls it off, setting it on the bed next to me. She rubs her eyes with the back of her fist, smearing the mascara. And that's when I notice her eyes. They're red and puffy. Like she's been crying. “Nathan?” Hearing her voice breaks something inside of me. Irrationally, I thought I'd hear condemnation, maybe hatred, like in my nightmares. Hearing the real Lena, hearing the real concern in her voice, loosens something inside o
Last Updated: 2025-08-06
Chapter: You Look Like A Dead FishNathan POV “Where is she?”In two hours, I've discovered that yelling with the amount of stitches over my gut is a right fucking idea. If I wasn't so angry, the pain would have knocked me unconscious. I try for a low growl. “Where is she, Adrian?”Adrian shakes his head sadly. “I don't know, Nathan. One minute she was in the house. And one minute she wasn't. She even took my car.”My grandmother continues with her knitting, clacking needles together as she spins a ball of yarn. She's making a sweater? “You're not worried about her?” I ask, feeling my annoyance rise. My grandmother doesn't spare me a glance. She jabs a knitting needle in my direction. “Men, I believe, worry too much about everything. It's no surprise that you die earlier than we do. That kind of worrying does terrible things to your blood pressure.”“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Lena is missing! We're on lockdown, and she's missing
Last Updated: 2025-08-05
Chapter: Careful Not To Show My FearLena POV His fingers drum against the table. His cup of coffee sits inches away, untouched. A finger of steam curls above the cop, ascending in a transparent spiral. “And what exactly do you believe I want?” He tries to make his tone casual, but I can hear the greed in his voice. Power. Money. You're not exactly hard to read, Sebastian. I lift my cup to my lips, and take a sip. Again, the confusion flickers over Sebastian's face. He rubs his chin with his index as he waits for my answer. “You'll have to tell me,” I respond. “I'm a Carter, Sebastian. I have resources you cannot begin to imagine.”He sneers. “And why would I want something that's yours when I can have what's mine instead?” He smiles, a feral look in his eyes. “I assume that we're of course talking about my half-brother.”Underneath the table, I clench my hands into fists, but I don't let the anger show on my face or slip into my voice. “Are
Last Updated: 2025-08-05
Chapter: Negotiation Lena POV My stiletto heels clack against the sidewalk. Clack. Clack. Clack. The rapping of metal against stone. My heart beats in tune, thumping along to the rhythm in my chest. It's mid-afternoon, and the streets are like that meme about optimism/pessimism: half full, half empty. Families flock like birds. A kid starts crying when her ice cream falls of her cone with a distinct splat sound. A dog immediately dives at it. In seconds, its snout is covered in strawberry pink ice cream. I push my glasses across the bridge of my nose to keep it from slipping. It's huge and big, and the frames cover nearly my entire cheeks. I have a cap strewn over my head, and when a strand of my hair slips out, I have to resist the urge to pause and look around to see if anyone recognises me. You're being silly, Lena. But I still take a look around. No cars tailing me. No suspiciously dressed stranger. I'm not in danger. But would I even know? This is t
Last Updated: 2025-08-04
Chapter: PlanLena POV “Lena?”Big hands palm over me, running across my body with familiar calluses. Lips press against the outer lobe of my ear. “Lena,” they whisper. I wake up. And smiling at me, like the sun itself behind grey clouds, is Nathan. His blue eyes gleam with amusement, despite the dark circles constantly orbiting them. His lips are curved in a smile, and he wrinkles his nose. “You drooled, you know? I didn't know you drooled.”Relief threatens to burst my heart. I'm feeling so much of it that tears form in my eyes. I touch him on his shoulder, squeeze the hard muscle between my hands. I take his other hand in mine, extend my middle finger down the lines in his palms, past even the one marred by the scar he got during a drilling accident. I press his palm against my face, and breathe in deeply. Nathan. He's awake. “If I'd known you missed me so much, I'd have woken up earlier.” His tone is light and amused, but his bright blue eyes sparkle behind a film of tears. I kiss him. My
Last Updated: 2025-08-04
Chapter: His BloodLena POV“What the hell happened to my car?” Adrian said as the car pulled into the driveway. Then he looked in the backseat, heard the hoarse sounds Nathan made as he tried to breathe, and Adrian's face went pale. “Jesus. Nathan? What the fuck? What happened?” His voice was filled with plain hysteria, his eyes wide with panic. “He was shot,” I said, and in some small part of my mind that wasn't addled by my fear for Nathan, I was proud of how calm my voice sounded. I'd cried myself hoarse driving here. I felt physically exhausted and mentally drained. “We need to get help for him.”Adrian looked at me, then blinked. It was like he was seeing at me for the first time. I caught a look of my reflection in the remains of the destroyed car window. My hair was a mess around my face and matted with blood. My skin felt cold and clammy. There were shards buried in the cuts of my face, and my hands were completely covered in blood. Nathan's blo
Last Updated: 2025-08-03
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