Semua Bab Shattered Vows : Bab 141 - Bab 150

Elena The next morning, I returned to Cambridge with a box in my arms—the letters, the diary, the redacted medical files, and the photographs that made my hands tremble every time I touched them. They smelled of mildew and forgotten time, and yet they held the only truth I had left. Noah was staying at Victor’s for the weekend. I’d asked him for space. Told him I needed time to process some “family history.” He didn’t ask questions, but I saw the unease in his eyes. He knew—he always knew—when I was lying. I stared at the door to my father’s study. I hadn’t stepped into this house since the divorce. It still felt like a mausoleum of everything that had died in me. But now, I came not as a daughter. Not even as a survivor. I came as a witness. And I came to confront the man who buried my sister—and called it love. Daniel When I opened the door, I saw her standing there—Elena, wrapped in winter gray, cheeks hollowed by sleepless nights. My heart clenched, and for a moment, I fel

Elena There’s something uniquely cruel about silence when it comes after chaos. You expect it to soothe you, to give you space to breathe again. But sometimes, silence is worse than the shouting, worse than the accusations—because it’s in that stillness that the memories echo the loudest. After Daniel’s sudden reappearance and his twisted declaration of sacrifice, I hadn’t been able to sleep. My body was still, but my mind never stopped moving—replaying every word he’d said, every step he’d taken through my home like he still belonged there. It is morning now. The sky outside was a slate-colored blur, the kind of pale light that made everything inside look dull. I sat on the floor of the study with my legs folded beneath me, a cup of untouched tea beside me, and boxes I hadn’t dared open since the move. They were filled with things from another life—a life I had fought to leave behind. One box was labeled “Cambridge – Office.” I opened it. Books. My old stethoscope. A framed photo

ElenaWhen the police cruiser finally pulled up with its lights off and a quiet hum, the dark car at the edge of my street vanished like smoke—just enough time for Daniel to disappear, just enough time for him to stay legal.It was a game to him.A game of proximity.He didn’t need to cross the threshold of my home to invade it. Just his presence—his silhouette in the shadows—was enough to drain the warmth from my bones and make the house feel like a crime scene before anything had happened.The officer took my statement, asked routine questions, and glanced at my previous complaint history. Then he gave me a polite nod that stung more than it should have.“We can’t prove intent, ma’am. But keep logging everything. If he steps out of line—really crosses it—we’ll act.”Really crosses it.I wanted to laugh. Or scream. Or crumble.Because how far did a man have to go before someone believed you? How many nights did a woman have to feel hunted before

It took me nearly two minutes to realize I was holding my breath.That key. That cursed key—cool, metallic, deceptively innocent. But I knew better.Daniel wasn’t offering a reunion. He was issuing a challenge.A territorial claim wrapped in nostalgia.“You belong here. Not there.”As if the past were a leash I could be dragged back on.As if the life I bled to escape could be polished and worn like a second skin.I tossed the key on the kitchen counter. It clanged loud and sharp, echoing in the quiet.Lucas stood near the door, arms folded, jaw tight.“He’s spiraling,” I said finally.Lucas didn’t reply. He didn’t need to.The photo. The letter. The key. These weren’t just breadcrumbs. They were warnings. And Daniel was circling closer with each one.The next morning, I called my lawyer.“I need to make sure the restraining order is airtight,” I told her. “He’s getting bolder.”She sighed, the kind of weary sigh that tells you

I didn’t go to the hospital the next day.I sent an email. Took a leave of absence. Told them I needed time.What I didn’t say was that I was preparing for war.Daniel wasn’t just watching anymore—he was circling. Hunting. A predator that once wore a wedding ring and a designer smile.Now?He wore shadows.Lucas stayed close, rotating shifts with Victor. Surveillance was set up around the house. Police presence nearby was constant. Even the school had been notified and agreed to extra patrols during drop-off and pickup.Still, I didn’t feel safe.I felt… studied.Like somewhere, behind tinted windows or from the dark edge of a tree line, Daniel was watching me hold our son’s hand, watching me try to breathe like a normal mother, a normal woman.But nothing about this was normal anymore.This was a finale waiting to detonate.That night, I sat in the living room long after Noah had gone to bed. The fireplace flickered, but I didn’t feel