Todos os capítulos de In the name of vows: Capítulo 131 - Capítulo 140

Chapter 20KatyThere’s a strange stillness that follows a really good night.Not the awkward kind. Not the “well, that was fun, see you later” sort of silence people sometimes fall into when the magic fizzles out. No. This one feels different, warmer somehow, like the quiet hum after a song you didn’t realize you were holding your breath through.I notice it as Mark and I walk back toward the hotel.Neither of us is in a hurry.Which, for someone like me, is really unusual.Normally I move through cities the way people skim through playlists very quickly, impatiently, always looking for the next track before the current one even finishes. Airports, taxis, late night packing, half charged phone batteries. That’s the rhythm I know.But tonight? Tonight my pace slows without me meaning it to.Mark’s hand brushes mine as we cross the street.Just a light touch.Still, the contact sends a small ripple up my arm. I pretend not to notice, though my brain definitely does.He notices too.Of

Chapter 22Katy’s POVIt’s quiet.Too quiet.Not the peaceful kind or the kind people write about in books, where silence feels like rest. No. This one sits differently. It presses. It lingers. Like something is waiting to happen but hasn’t quite found the time yet.I’m halfway through making coffee when the knock comes.Sharp. Unexpectedly.I freeze.For a second I think it might be Mark because he is the only one I would expect .And something in me tightens. Not in a good way. Not bad either. Just that familiar, uneasy pull I haven’t quite figured out how to name yet.But he wouldn’t knock like that.Mark waits. He texts. He gives space even when I don’t deserve it.The knock comes again.More insistent this time.I set the mug down slowly, wiping my hands on the side of my jeans like that’ll steady me. It doesn’t.By the time I reach the door, something in my chest already knows.I don’t know how, but it does.I opened it. And there she is.My mother.For a moment, the world tilt

Chapter 24KatyParis again. It’s quite hypocritical to say.I don’t even remember booking the flight properly. One minute I was pacing my apartment, replaying every word of that argument like a broken record, and the next well I’m in at the Airport. Boarding pass. Window seat.Classic.If running were an Olympic sport, I’d have medals by now. Gold, probably. Maybe two.The city looks the same. That’s the strange part. I remember the moment I turned 18 this was the first place I ran to just to escape my parents and since then my need to always go to different places came. Nothing here has shifted to accommodate the fact that my life, well, not my life exactly, but something in it has tilted slightly off balance.People are still laughing in cafes. Still taking pictures like the world is perfectly in place. The waiter doesn’t care that I left something unfinished back home. Why would he?I sit outside with a cup of coffee I didn’t really want, watching strangers pass by like I’m not on

Chapter 26Katy’s POVThe ringing of my phone pulls me out of my thoughts.It has been constantly ringing for a while now.I almost ignored it.Almost.Because I’m in the middle of nothing, literally nothing. Sitting by the window in this small Paris hotel room, watching people walk past like they have somewhere to be, like their lives make sense. And mine…Mine feels paused. Suspended. Like I stepped out of it for a second and forgot how to get back in.The phone keeps ringing.I sigh, reaching for it without checking the screen. “Hello?”“Katy, finally got to you.”Christine.Her voice is wrong.That’s the first thing I notice.Too tight. Too careful.Something in my chest shifts.“What is it?”A pause.Just a second, but it stretches too long.“Mark’s been in an accident.”…No.No, that doesn’t—no.“What?”“He's in the hospital. It’s serious. They’re” she exhales shakily, “they’re taking him into surgery.”Everything after that blurs.I hear words. I think I do. But they don’t lan

Chapter 28Katy’s POVThe laughter around Not mine.Christine’s.It carries across the garden. It's light, unrestrained, the kind of laugh that doesn’t check itself halfway through. I catch it between conversations, between clinking glasses and soft music, and it makes me pause.Because when was the last time I heard her laugh like that?Really laugh?I tilt my head slightly, watching her from where I’m standing. She looks, God. Really happy. Not the curated, picture perfect kind people post online with captions that mean nothing. No, this is different. Real. A little overwhelming, probably.The kind of happiness that scares you a bit because you actually have something to lose.Funny.I used to run from that.“Careful,” Mark murmurs beside me, his voice low, teasing. “You’re staring.”“I’m observing,” I correct, glancing at him briefly before looking back. “There’s a difference.”“Mm. Sure there is.”I nudge him lightly with my elbow, but there’s no real heat behind it. My attentio