Lahat ng Kabanata ng Tainted Vows: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

"Lauren West, are you crazy? I’ve explained a hundred times already. Can you stop making a scene?""There’s no need to explain. Let’s get divorced." I closed my eyes, my voice flat, almost detached."You’re jealous over nothing! I told you, Nora and I are just colleagues. A typhoon hit. What was I supposed to do? Let a young girl work in the storm by herself? The ocean isn’t going anywhere. What if she caught a cold?"Michael Grant seemed to have forgotten that he'd invited me to the coast. Right now, I was stranded on an isolated strip of shore because of that very storm.Cold rain lashed my face, whipped sideways by the typhoon. Anger boiled up in me, and I snapped, "I’m still stuck on Seaview Road. The water’s up to my ankles."The moment he realized I was in danger, Michael’s voice sharpened with urgency. "Wait there. I’m coming to get you right now."A trip that should have taken him over half an hour took him merely twenty minutes. When he climbed out of the car, disheveled

My chest heaved, every breath sharp, as my heart twisted in painful spasms.Michael knew I had a heart condition and that heatstroke could threaten my life, yet he still locked me in a sweltering warehouse where the temperature hit over a hundred degrees.My clothes were soaked through, sweat pouring until I was faint, the edges of my vision blurring.I don’t know how much time passed before the heavy door finally swung open.Michael walked in, calm and indifferent. He peeled the tape from my mouth and loosened the ropes."Lauren, don’t let this happen again."My brows knitted in confusion until I saw Nora lounging against the doorframe, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Lauren, I accept your apology."I clutched my chest, my voice hoarse and ghostly, "What apology?"The ropes hit the ground, and my body gave way. I collapsed against Michael’s chest. His tone softened instantly, "I’ll take you home."Every muscle in me went rigid. With what little strength I had left, I swung my

"Look closely. Michael and Nora are the ones fooling around!"Everyone froze and turned to the TV.Michael moved fast, yanking the power cord from the outlet. The video flickered and died.Seeing that, Nora let out a wail and stared at me with bitter grievance. "Lauren, I’ve never had a problem with you, so why would you slander me like this? Is it because I’m a country bumpkin who's easy to bully?"She swept her gaze around the room with her teeth clenched. "Michael and I are innocent. If you want to attack me, don’t drag him into it."With that, she ran to the balcony and pretended she was going to jump. "If I jump from here, that proves I wasn’t lying, doesn’t it?!"Michael rushed over and grabbed her.The more Nora struggled, the tighter they clung to each other.After he soothed her, Michael turned on me. His voice was cold and scathing. "Lauren, you’re a woman too. How can you be so vicious, spreading obscene rumors about a young girl?! Will you only be satisfied if you d

His face flushed with heat.I quickly cut him off, "Ian, we’re best friends. I don’t ever want to marry again. From now on, I just want to do the things I actually love."Ian didn’t press the subject. Instead, he shifted the conversation to our childhood memories.I’d always been outgoing, talkative, and full of energy. I used to dream of starting a livestream company, being a streamer selling products, and doing something fun. However, for Michael's sake, I’d stayed stuck in that office, helping manage his business.I thought Ian would back off after that.I meant what I said. Once I decided, I acted fast. I poached top operations managers, streamers, production directors, camera crew… and launched my own startup.Ian came by the office often. Our conversations were all about process optimization, company structure, and management. His advice was invaluable.Meanwhile, I decided to appear on-camera myself. Two months passed, and yet my streams barely had an audience. I was offi