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Chapter 14: Defiance
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๋ฐ์ดํธ:
2025-03-13 20:34:28
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Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 15: Breaking the Ice
The storm had come out of nowhere. The sky, once a dull gray, had deepened into an ominous black as thunder rumbled across the horizon. Heavy raindrops pounded against the pavement, turning the Blackwood estateโs vast courtyard into a glistening sheet of water. Isla barely noticed. Her pulse thundered in her ears, drowning out everything else as she stormed down the driveway. She didnโt care that she had no destination. She didnโt care that her dress was soaked through, clinging to her like a second skin. All she knew was that she had to get away. Away from the suffocating walls of the Blackwood mansion. Away from Killian.Her hands clenched into fists as she replayed their last conversation in her mindโthe way he had looked at her with that infuriating mix of detachment and possession. He thought he could control her. He thought she would bend and break just because he said so. Not anymore. She had been so consumed by her thoughts that she hadnโt heard the car. Not until it was t
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 16: Breaking Free
The morning sunlight spilled through the grand windows of the Blackwood estate, casting golden streaks across the marble floor. Isla sat at the breakfast table, stirring her tea absentmindedly, her mind elsewhere. Across from her, Killian sat with his usual air of indifference, his fingers scrolling through his phone, a steaming cup of black coffee untouched beside him.It had been a week since the accident, a week since Killian had shielded her with his own body, provingโif only for a momentโthat beneath his icy demeanor, something else lurked. But after that night, he had returned to his cold, distant self, shutting her out as though nothing had changed.But for Isla, everything had changed.She was done waiting for Killian Blackwood to acknowledge her, done feeling like an unwanted ghost haunting the halls of his empire. If she was going to survive in this world, she needed to build something of her own.Placing her cup down with deliberate softness, she looked up. "I'm going out t
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 17: Possessive Tension
Isla hadnโt expected to be noticed so quickly. Her first week at *Harrison & Co.* had been overwhelming, but she found solace in the work. There was something freeing about designing spaces, bringing visions to life. It gave her a purposeโone she desperately needed.But she hadnโt anticipated the attention that came with it.It started at a charity gala, an event her boss insisted she attend. As an up-and-coming designer in Manhattanโs elite circles, networking was key. She had been reluctant at first, but when she arrived, she realized how much she had missed feeling confident, feeling seen.And someone definitely saw her.Nicholas Vaughn.A name that carried almost as much weight as Blackwood in the world of business. He was charming, refined, and devastatingly handsome. More importantly, he was interested in herโnot as Killian Blackwoodโs wife, but as Isla Blackwood, the designer making a name for herself.When he approached her with a knowing smirk and an extended hand, she didnโt
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 18: A Fractured Kiss
The mansion was silent except for the faint sound of the city humming outside. Isla stood near the window, arms crossed over her chest as she gazed at the endless Manhattan skyline. The night stretched before her like a vast, open roadโa road she wished she could escape down, far from the chaos of Killian Blackwood.The tension between them had been unbearable since the gala. Every interaction was a battlefield. He had ignored her for days, but his presence still loomed, an ever-present storm ready to unleash its fury. The sound of approaching footsteps made her straighten, but she refused to turn around. She already knew who it was. "Youโve been avoiding me," Killianโs voice was deep, controlled, yet there was a rough edge to it. Isla scoffed, still not looking at him. "Thatโs ironic, coming from the man who ignores me whenever itโs convenient."A sharp exhale. "That night at the galaโ"She finally turned, her gaze meeting his with defiance. "What about it?" His jaw clenched. "Ni
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 19: The Truth Unveiled
The morning light streamed through the expansive windows of Islaโs room, but there was no warmth in it. She sat at the dining table, stirring her untouched coffee as her mind churned with unease. The kiss with Killian had left a wound, one she hadn't been able to bandage no matter how much she tried to convince herself that it meant nothing. It had meant something. She had seen it in his eyesโconflict, regret, something deeper he refused to name. But none of that mattered anymore, not after what she had just discovered.Her phone sat on the table, the screen still displaying the news article that had shattered the fragile illusion she had been clinging to. **Killian Blackwood and Celeste Sinclair: Manhattanโs Power Couple Still Going Strong**The headline alone was enough to send a cold chill down her spine. The article detailed an alleged private meeting between Killian and Celeste at an exclusive venue, and though the details were vague, the accompanying picture wasnโt. Killian
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 20: Unbreakable Resolve
Isla sat in the darkness of her room, the only source of light coming from the city skyline outside. The vast metropolis stretched before her, alive with flickering lights and distant sirens, but she felt nothingโjust a numb emptiness settling deep in her bones. Her hands clenched into fists on her lap as she replayed the scene with Killian over and over in her mind.He had lied to her. Again.She should have expected it. Killian Blackwood was not a man who dealt in honesty. He was cold, calculated, and only ever did things that served his own interests. And she? She had been a foolโa fool who had let him get close enough to hurt her not once, but twice.Never again.A knock at the door startled her. Her first instinct was to ignore it, but then a familiar voice echoed through the quiet space.โIsla, open the damn door.โKillian.A bitter laugh escaped her lips. Of course, he would come. Of course, he would try to smooth things over with that same cold, detached logic he always used.
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-14Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 21: The Thin Line Between Hate and Desire
Islaโs heels echoed against the marble floor as she stepped into Blackwood Enterprises. Her spine was stiff, her chin lifted high as if the weight of her heartbreak hadnโt crushed her the night before. Killianโs betrayal was still fresh in her mind. The image of Celeste standing beside him, her fingers possessively gripping his sleeve, replayed like a cruel joke. He had lied. Lied about the engagement being over. Lied about wanting Isla in any way that mattered. Yet, here she was. She had convinced herself that she was here for closureโfor control over her own narrative. But deep down, a part of her knew she was drawn to the flame, even though she had already been burned. The receptionist looked startled as Isla stormed past her desk without so much as a glance. She didnโt need an appointment. She was his wifeโsecret or not. She had every right to demand answers. The doors to Killianโs office were shut, but that didnโt deter her. With a firm push, she burst inside, her pulse ha
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-15Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 22: Tension Unraveled
The evening air was thick with unspoken words as Isla sat in the dimly lit library of the Blackwood estate. The fire crackled softly in the background, casting flickering shadows along the mahogany bookshelves. She had buried herself in a book, hoping that the fictional world would offer some solace from the chaos of her reality, but her mind kept drifting back to Killian. The way he had kissed her. The way he had pulled away. The way he had shattered whatever fragile understanding had begun to form between them. She hated him for it. And she hated herself for letting him affect her so deeply. A sharp knock at the door startled her. Before she could respond, the door creaked open, revealing the one person she was trying to avoid. Killian. He stepped inside, his imposing presence filling the room instantly. Dressed in a tailored black suit, his stormy blue eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. There was something different about him tonightโsom
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๋ฐ์ดํธ : 2025-03-15
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Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 99
The following days were filled with a tense, quiet rhythmโa condition of cautious peace. Killian Blackwood did nothing. He didn't stick around. He called every day, just a friendly calling-in: *Do you need anything? May I bring something?*Isla Carter never heard him like this. soft before. There was a reserve in his voice, as if he were pacing on thin ice, not wanting to shatter the delicate balance she'd begun to restore.She didn't always pick up. Sometimes she let the phone ring out. But she listened to the voicemails.And every night, she looked at the empty space on the other side of her bed and wondered why the pain had not lessened.On the fourth day, she opened her front door to find a package. A hardcover book sat on the welcome mat, wrapped in brown paper and twine. There was no note. But she knew it was from him.It was the same novel they'd argued about previously at that bookstore near his penthouse. The one she'd called overhyped, and he'd said she hadn't had a decent s
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 98
The morning sun filtered through the lace curtains of Isla Carter's cottage, casting soft golden shafts that crept across the wooden floorboards. It had rained during the night, but now all was glittering with dew, as though nature itself had decided to cleanse the past.Isla awoke beneath the quilted blankets of her grandmother's old bed, her mind already racing with the events of last night. Her heart thudded with a mix of disbelief and something more tender. Not quite trust. Not yet. But its ghost.She turned her head a little and discovered Killian Blackwood sleeping in the armchair across the room, his large frame uncomfortably slouched, his head resting on the wooden back, and his dark lashes casting a shadow on his cheekbones. He looked. human. Vulnerable. Not the invincible magnate who had once discarded her like a broken deal.Just a man who had stayed.She sat up slowly, careful not to wake him. But his eyes fluttered open anyway."Morning," he murmured, his voice gravelly w
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 97
Morning light streamed through the transparent curtains of Isla Carter's loft, casting golden threads across the wooden floor. It was quiet, peaceful, almost too still.Isla stood by the kitchen window, a cup of steaming chamomile tea held in her hands. Her eyes followed the soft sway of the trees beyond the window, but her mind was elsewhere. The words from Killian Blackwood the night before had stuck with her, each one ringing with the finality of something that could not be undone."I want to be worthy of you, Isla. Even if it takes the rest of my life.".Those words had unraveled something inside her, something she'd fought to tighten up in past months. She'd rebuilt herself from the ground up. Improved. Intelligent. But also better guarded.Yet Killian returned โ not the cold, rational man who formerly considered love an exchange, but a rough, unfinished, and terrifyingly real person.There was a knock that interrupted her thoughts.She spun towards the door, already pounding wit
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 96
The next morning, after Killian Blackwood's offer, was bright and beautiful, the kind of golden light that made all things seem fresh. Isla Carter awoke with her hand still lying softly over the engagement ring on her finger, her heart still skipping a beat in disbelief and joy. The previous night had seemed like a dream created, but the sparkle of the diamond and the heat of Killian's arms about her reminded her it was real.She rolled over in bed to find him already awake, lying on one elbow, looking at her with quiet respect."Morning, fiancรฉe," he whispered, voice low with sleep and love.She laughed, stretching out. "Morning, fiancรฉ."He got up and kissed her softly, his thumb tracing her cheek. "We have to get up. Big day today."She groaned. "I just want to lie here and pretend the world doesn't exist."He smiled, his face buried in her hair. "Tempting. But I promised a very clever woman that we would do something real."Her heart skipped another beat.Isla threw off the covers
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 95
For a couple of days, it looked like the storm had actually passed.The made-up stories fell out of the headlines.A formal denial from Marcus's so-called "anonymous sources" appeared, recanting all the charges. The donors who had pulled out of Haven's Hope began calling again, bearing apologies and tentative promises of aid.The shelter breathed again.The town itself, cautiously at first, but ever more warmly, welcomed Killian Blackwood back home.But Killian wasn't the same man anymore.He'd surrendered his empire, his riches, and his fine reputation for Isla Carter.And even though he didn't resent it โ not one minute of it โ the weight of it came upon him now and then on nights that stretched interminable and sleepless.He didn't tell Isla everything.Not yet.Not with the phone calls he wasn't returning from old friends who now saw him as a liability.Not with the lawyers circling like vultures over the deals Marcus had bullied him into signing.Not with the creeping, insidious
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 94
For a few fleeting days, the world stilled around Killian Blackwood and Isla Carter.They settled into a rhythm that was fragile but real โ a rhythm built of whispered vows and lingering touches, of cautious smiles and hands brushing accidentally-on-purpose.It wasn't ideal.There were still shadows, still wounds not quite scarred over.But it was real.It was theirs.And that was enough.Until Marcus came back.This time, he did not come quietly. This time, he came to destroy.---It started with a headline. Killian had just stepped into the entrance of the shelter when he heard the buzz โ biting whispers, horrified gasps. Janine rushed to him, phone outstretched, her face pale. "You need to see this," she whispered, shaking. Killian took the phone. The article stared back at him, the bold letters screaming:**"Blackwood's Dirty Secrets: From Criminal Empire to Philanthropist Fraud"**He read the words once. Then again. And again.Each sentence was a knife.Each accusation meti
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 93
The glow of the fundraiser still warm in Isla Carter's memory the next morning, she came into the small office of the shelter, an armful of paperwork in her arms.Her cheeks burned even now as she recalled the kiss โ their kiss โ amid a sea of onlookers. She hadn't cared who might see.For the first time in many years, Isla could hope without terror tightening its grip on her throat.Killian Blackwood was transforming into the man she needed.Maybe, just maybe, they had a hope of forever.She put down the papers and started to put them in order, humming a tune to herself. The office was unusually silent on a Monday morning, but she wrote that off as post-event exhaustion.It was only when she listened in to the strained, hurried words behind the door that she stopped.Janine's voice. Taut. Concerned.A different voice โ gruffer, lower. Male.And Killian's voice โ hot, tight.Isla's gaze grew darker and took a step toward the door.The moment she pushed it a little way open, she listen
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 92
The next morning, Isla Carter woke to the smell of coffee drifting through her small flat.For a moment, she lay still, eyes closed, letting the warmth of it seep into her bones.It had been a while since she woke up feeling anything like peace.When at last she opened her eyes and moved into the kitchen, Killian Blackwood was waiting for her โ his back to her, shirt sleeves rolled up, pouring two mismatched mugs with coffee.It was this small, ordinary moment. This brutally normal thing.And it hit her smack in the middle of her chest.This might be real.This might be them.Killian turned at the sound of her footsteps and smiled โ a tentative, uncertain smile that twisted her heart in torture."Morning," he offered, holding out a mug.She took it, their hands touching, a spark of electricity shooting up her arm."Morning," she whispered in return.They stood there for a moment, sipping coffee, the silence comfortable.But Isla knew that it couldn't stay this easy forever.Last night
Shattered Vowsย ย ย Chapter 91
The next morning, it had stopped raining, but the city was shrouded in a thick fog, as if the world itself was catching its breath.Isla Carter stood in her window, holding a mug of steaming coffee between her hands, looking out at the gray skyline.The midnight conversation with Killian Blackwood still ran through her head, as vivid as if it had just happened.His cracked voice.His soaked body at her doorstep.His promise: *I'll wait forever if I have to.*She wasn't sure if she was ready to pardon him yet.But she did know this โ she couldn't ignore him either.Her phone on the counter rang.Her heart skipped a beat.A message.**Killian Blackwood:**> *There's something I have to show you. No pressure. If you want to see it, I'll be at 345 Lennox Street at noon. If not. I'll get it.*Isla stared at the note for a moment, stomach twisting with nerves.She should leave it alone.She should stand up for herself.And yet. her fingers seemed to act of their own accord, typing out two b
