All Chapters of Shattered Vows : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ElenaI wasn’t expecting him to show up.Not after the court’s warning. Not after all the restraining orders and legal walls I’d built around myself and Noah. But Jason never cared about boundaries—especially not the ones I begged him to respect.I had just come out of the community center after volunteering, the cool evening breeze brushing across my skin, when I saw his car parked across the street. Black. Sleek. Still spotless, like his conscience.My feet froze on the steps.He stepped out.“Elena,” he called, hands raised like a man trying to appear harmless. “Please. Just give me five minutes.”I shouldn’t have stopped. But curiosity, anger, and the lingering shadows of love—yes, even now—compelled me.I crossed my arms and stayed rooted on the steps. “You’re not supposed to be here.”“I know,” he said. “But I had to see you. Just once. It’s been eating me alive.”I laughed bitterly. “You broke a court order to talk about your feelings?”

ElenaI couldn’t sleep.Even with Noah tucked in safely and the doors locked tight, my mind kept spinning. Kate—hovering near Jason’s building. Jason—paranoid, spiraling. Jessica—showing up out of nowhere like a ghost from a life I’d buried.Was this the beginning of another storm? Or had it never really passed?I stood by the window, arms wrapped around myself, watching the wind play with the branches outside. My thoughts were a mess of memories and warnings—Kate’s smug threats, Jason’s desperate voicemail, and Jessica’s haunted eyes.The thing about trauma is, it never truly leaves. It just changes shape.It becomes the silence between breaths, the twitch of doubt when everything seems too quiet. The ghosts don’t go away. They just wait. Lurking.And tonight, I felt them watching me.My phone buzzed on the table.Unknown Number.For a moment, I stared at it, heart hammering. I should’ve let it go. But instincts born from heartbreak and betra

ElenaThere’s something eerily liberating about driving away from everything you’ve ever known.With each mile that passed, the weight of Westbrooke lifted a little more from my shoulders. But it didn’t leave me feeling lighter. It left me raw—like skin exposed to cold wind after a burn. I was escaping, yes. But escape didn’t feel like freedom. It felt like survival.Noah had fallen asleep in the backseat hours ago, his head resting against his bear, his breath soft and steady. I envied him at that moment—his innocence, his trust that I could protect him from a world that had turned so violently unpredictable.The GPS Daniel gave me led to a remote cabin nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Secluded. Unlisted. Rented under a pseudonym. He told me it belonged to an old friend, someone who owed him a favor. I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t want to know the details. Not this time.I just wanted to breathe.It was nearly dawn when I pulled into the gravel drivewa

ElenaI didn’t sleep.Even with the power restored and the sun rising behind the pines, a shadow lingered in my chest. Like an instinct. A whisper that told me—they’re coming.Kate didn’t sleep either. She sat by the fire, laptop open on her knees, scanning files with the intensity of a soldier on a mission. She hadn’t spoken a word since the blackout, but her silence was louder than any scream.Noah stirred on the couch and I moved quickly to his side, smoothing back his curls.“Mom?” he whispered groggily.“I’m here, baby. You’re safe.”He blinked at me. “Why are you holding a flashlight?”I smiled. “Just a power cut. Nothing to worry about.”He accepted the answer and drifted back to sleep.I envied him. That kind of peace. That kind of trust in the person holding your world together.I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep pretending to be strong.Kate stood suddenly, snapping her laptop shut.“I got it,” she said. “The full

The silence in the car was suffocating. Even the soft hum of the engine sounded like a scream in my ears. I kept my eyes on the road, hands tightly clenched around the steering wheel, but my mind was miles away—lost in a whirlwind of memories, suspicions, and pain.Victor’s betrayal had shattered something inside me. Not just the illusion of love, but the core of who I was. And now, every interaction felt laced with hidden meanings. Every word, every look, every missed call. I didn’t know what was real anymore.I pulled into the driveway, the house looming ahead like a haunted shell. It used to be my sanctuary. Now, it felt like a trap. As I stepped inside, the scent of lavender from the diffuser hit me—a scent I used to love. Now it made my stomach turn.I dropped my bag on the hallway bench and walked into the living room. The framed photos on the wall caught my eye. Smiling faces. A perfect family. A perfect lie.I tore my gaze away, swallowing the lump in my thro