In the name of vows のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

CHAPTER TWENTY TWOCHRISTINES POVChristine almost cancelled twice.The first time was when she got home, she stood under her hot shower and she felt the exhaustion in her while body. The second was when she checked her wardrobe and the only outfits there were professional and work outfits but nothing to wear for a dinner.In the end, she chose a simple black wrap dress that was just below her knees. Which was not too elegant, but neither was it plain. It was armor quiet, dignified, and clear.She decided to leave her hair into a ponytail and applied little makeup, and grabbed her purse with a sigh she left the house.This is not a date, she had to remind herself before stepping out. This is war served on china plates.Adrian’s penthouse was on the top floor in midtown , overlooking the New York City sky. The elevator ride had felt really slow and she had counted each floor she passed to steady herself.When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out into tye apartment which was diml

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR Angela sat alone at her small desk by the executive assistant cubicles. It was still early barely 7 a.m. but Dreamspace’s floor was already busy and filled with persons.. As she drank her coffee she was staring blankly at her computer screen. Emails that were yet to be answered in her inbox, subject lines flashing words like URGENT, RE: SUPPLIER CONTRACT, and BOARDROOM FILES MISSING. She leaned back with a tired sigh, letting her eyes shifting to Christine’s office, where the light was already on indicating Christine was in there already. Again. Does she ever sleep? Angela wondered. The elevator opened softly, and two junior executives from the finance department stepped out, whispering as they walked past. “She looks like who hasn’t eaten in days,” one said, adjusting his tie. “Yeah,” the other replied, pushing his glasses up his nose. “But did you hear what Patel said in the boardroom yesterday? They’re worried Adrian will just push her out and take

CHAPTER TWENTY SIXCHRISTINES POVChristine was awake before her alarm had the chance to ring.The early light pressed gently through the curtains, casting faint shadows on the wall . She didn’t move at first. Just lay there, eyes fixed on the ceiling, her chest caught in that familiar, unrelenting ache. The kind that felt both dull and sharp all at once. The kind that made breathing feel like a task.Sleep had come in fragments, if at all. And when it did, all she could hear was Adrian’s voice with it steady, deceptively kind. Again and again, her mind replayed the conversation. His eyes, too calm. His words, too careful. That so called confession, looked too vulnerable and had felt more like a strategy than sincerity.She lay quietly on the bed for long in confusion. She could still feel the weight of his gaze, like a stone resting on her chest.Was it honesty?Or just another game he knew he’d win?She couldn’t let herself be moved. Not now.Her phone rang against the nightstand,

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT CHRISTINES POVChristine sat alone in her office, hands tangled in her lap, her gaze locked on the city skyline. The midday sun burned the glass towers bright, but inside her, everything chilled. Not the clinical air‑conditioning kind. A dread colder than any winter storm.Minutes. That was all she had. Minutes before the board reconvened.She hadn’t eaten — a plate of food untouched on the desk. She couldn’t stomach it. How could she, when the foundation beneath her was slipping?Her phone buzzed softly.She glanced down.Dad.His name glowed on the screen. Picture of him in his old sweatshirt, grinning, hair silver at the temples the same smile he gives her when he’s trying to be stronger than he feels.She didn’t answer. Not because she didn’t want to but because if she heard his voice, she might fall apart. And she couldn’t afford to.If he spoke, it’d be hope. “You can fix this, Chrissy. You always do.”But hope today felt like betrayal something soft that c

CHAPTER THIRTYADRIANs POVAdrian Kellerham stood at the edge of the glass, the New York skyline sprawling beneath him like a glittering lie. From this height, the world looked clean.The lights in the city made him think back to Christine’s eyes as they glowed with fury instead of the usual warmth.He still hadn’t touched the drink in his hand. The scotch sat in his glass like a promise he couldn’t keep. He rolled it once, then set it down. He wasn’t thirsty. He was burning.Her voice from earlier still clung to the corners of his mind.You think marriage is the answer to everything.She hadn’t yelled. She didn’t need to. The way she’d looked at him shoulders straight, voice like steel it had cut sharper than anything she could’ve screamed.And what’s worse ? She wasn’t wrong.He had wanted to fix it all with a contract, a signature, a deal. Just like he always did. But this wasn’t a merger. This was Christine.And she didn’t want saving especially not by him.Adrian put a hand again