All Chapters of BROKEN VOWS:- FALLING FOR MY MARRIAGE COUNSELOR: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

LILLIAN CALLOWAY “I want a divorce.” The words left my mouth before I had the chance to rehearse them. Before I had the chance to think about how it would change everything for me once he agreed. Joe didn’t even look up. Typical. I could be screaming or drowning, and he’d still be looking at that dem laptop. “I want a divorce,” I said again, louder this time. He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t move a muscle. Five years together. Two forgotten birthdays. Two missed anniversaries. A marriage dying in silence. It hurts that he won’t look me in the eyes, but Ive gotten used to that. The only thing moving between us was the ticking clock above our bed as I stood there like a statue, impatiently waiting for a response while the clock kept ticking. Tick. Tock. Tick. Finally, “Now’s not a good time, Lillian. I have an important meeting I need to prepare for in the next fifteen minutes.” I blinked. “Did you hear what I just said?” He sighed, still scrolling. “We can talk

LILLIAN He hasn’t said a word since he sat down—Just passing out the kind of glance that said too much without making a sound. My hands rest on the white linen napkin, fingers twitching against the stem of my wine glass. Keeping a tight smile plastered on my face like I just won an Oscar award. Fake, but enough to convince everyone. Nothing about this table seems lovely or United. Especially not the man who just walked in and is now sitting across from me, eyes drifting from the glass wrapped around my fingers to my face. I want to try to ignore it. His gaze—but I can’t. He hasn’t said a word, but I can feel his gaze burning harder and harder—steady and pressing. Like a burn on my skin, only I can feel. His fingers drum lightly against his wristwatch, calm as ever, leaving my father to do all the talking. Joe leans in, his breath hot against my skin.“You either eat or stop playing with your food?” I can’t take it. I excused myself with a soft smile and a murmured li

LILLIAN TWO WEEKS LATER “You and Mr Blackwell looked good at your parents estate on Saturday,” the interviewer said with a bright, cheerful voice. “Can you tell us what always keeps you smiling?” I smiled. Or at least I tried to. “Absolutely,” I said, folding my hands in my lap, like the proper, composed woman I was always taught to be. “Joe is my best friend. We support each other in everything we do and that alone strengthens our relationship.” The interviewer hummed, pleased as she scribbled what I had just said, like she knew she was about to make a great deal out of this interview. My publicist exhaled behind her, relieved. Everyone always wanted the fairytale. They just never bother to know if the princess ever forgot who the hell she was. I was just about to head into my office when the interviewer’s voice stopped me. “You don’t mind us uploading the photos with your article, right?” I turned to look at her with a tight smile. “Yeah, no problem. Go ahead.”

RONAN The moment the door clicked shut behind them, I dragged a hand down my face and let out the breath I’d been holding since the session started. My jaw ached. I hadn’t even realized how tight I had been clenching it, holding everything together while that asshole sat five feet from me, spewing venom at her like it was nothing. Professional. Calm. Neutral. That’s what I was supposed to be. That’s what my degree and years of training demanded. But the truth was, for the last two hours, every word that spewed out of his mouth had made me want to break something. Preferably his nose. I sat back in the mahogany armchair that suddenly felt too small, too confining. I clenched the notepad and pen in my hands as I looked at the spot she sat in just a couple of minutes ago, my chest rose and fell in tight, shallow pulls. God, I’d forgotten how much she could undo me without speaking. She’d barely looked at me, but that didn’t stop me from looking at her and the way her olive s

LILLIAN I got an email the next day saying our counselor would be out of town for the next few days, so our meeting got canceled—that was strange—but hey, I wasn’t mad. Honestly, relief washed over me when I read the email. I wasn’t mentally ready to sit across from him again, while I played the pretend game of acting like I hadn’t spent years trying to find him. Joe didn’t waste any time either. He packed his suitcase like his life depended on the opportunity, throwing ties and dress shirts into neat, folded piles. He had a conference in Seattle and seemed almost giddy about it. He was going to be there for five days. Five days were he gave himself a break and didn’t have to be around me to pretend that our marriage wasn’t suffocating us both. He left the bedroom, muttering something about his driver waiting, and was gone before I could even say goodbye. The house fell quiet after the slam of the front door. The quietness pressed on me like an anchor. That’s whe