All Chapters of The Torn Vows : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The city blurred past the tinted car window, but Gabriel barely saw it. His temples throbbed, his jaw locked so tight it ached.He had left the house without slamming the door, without yelling, without breaking. That had to count for control. But inside, he wasn’t controlled. Inside, he was tearing apart.My words still rang in his head. “She’s lying. You know me.”But did he?The elevator doors opened into the Grayson Tower lobby, cool marble and glass gleaming under the morning lights. Conversations hummed, phones rang and heels clicked against stone. My kingdom. My empire. But for the first time, it felt… unstable.And then he saw her.Emily.She stood by the reception desk like she owned the place. A silk blouse, soft curls framing her face, a file folder tucked against her chest. When she looked up and saw him, her eyes softened instantly—rehearsed, perfect.“Gabriel,” she breathed, relief dripping from her tone.His gut twisted.“What are you doing here?” His voice came out shar

By the time the sun dipped behind the skyline, Sebastian already had answers.Information was his currency, and he’d spent it freely. A few calls, a few favours. By the time his contact at the medical licensing board returned with the file, he knew Emily’s pretty little house of cards had a rotten foundation.He flipped through the email on his tablet, every line confirming what his gut had told me.Dr. Carlos Morales. OB-GYN. Licensed—yes. Practising barely. His clinic? Not in the upscale district Emily liked to parade around, but a hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall two hours outside the city. His name had been flagged before for issuing “medical records” under suspicious circumstances.In plain English? He was a fraud for hire.And if Emily was waving his paperwork like a battle flag, it meant she’d gotten sloppy. Desperate.He couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his mouth.His phone buzzed across the table. Eve.He answered. My voice was tight, urgent. “Please tell me you have so

My nails pressed crescents into my palms beneath the table. Gabriel’s words still cut through me, sharper than Emily’s taunts, sharper than any rumour spreading online.If she’s lying… I need proof.Proof.I forced myself to breathe evenly, to look calm, when inside I was shaking.“You’ll have it,” I said finally, my voice low, deliberate. “I’ll get you your proof.”His eyes narrowed. “How?”I held his stare. I wasn’t going to give him an answer he could twist. “Just trust me.”He gave a bitter laugh. “Trust. That’s rich, Eve. That’s exactly what I’m running out of.”The words gutted me, but I didn’t flinch. I couldn’t—not now.I stood, grabbed my phone from the counter, and walked out before he could press me further. If I stayed, I’d break.My hand trembled as I closed the bedroom door behind me. I sank onto the bed, phone clutched tight.Enough.Emily was playing dirty, weaponizing lies, controlling the narrative. The public, Gabriel, even the courts—it was all slipping under Emily

“Yes,” he said. “And if we don’t find out who’s behind her, Eve, this won’t just be about Gabriel. They’ll bury you in court. And in public.”I gripped the phone tighter, my pulse hammering. Relief warred with dread. Proof existed, yes—but if Emily had powerful backing, this was only the opening move.Sebastian’s voice softened slightly. “Don’t break now. You’ve got the truth on your side. But we have to be smarter than her. And faster.”I swallowed hard, my spine straightening even as my heart splintered.“I’m not breaking,” I said. “Not anymore. Send me everything. I’ll put it in Gabriel’s hands myself.”I ended the call, staring at the folder, the fake documents, and the web of lies Emily had spun so perfectly.For the first time in days, a new thought sparked in her mind.I can win this.__Gabriel couldn’t sleep.The city outside his window pulsed with neon and noise, but in his chest there was only silence. Heavy. Suffocating.He sat on the edge of the bed, head in his hands, re

“Say it.”My voice was low, sharp, and stripped of all the softness I used to speak to him with. My hand was still on his arm, but it didn’t feel like comfort. It felt like a demand.“Say you don’t believe her.”Gabriel’s jaw tightened. He wanted to—God, he wanted to—but the words stuck in his throat like glass. Because if he said them, if he dismissed Emily completely, he had to admit something worse: that the gaps in his memory made him blind. And blind men made mistakes.My nails dug into his sleeve. “You can’t even say it.” My laugh was brittle, bitter. “After everything, after us, after what we’ve built—you can’t even give me that.”My eyes glistened, but no tears fell. I was too furious for tears now.Gabriel forced himself to meet my gaze, even as guilt coiled like a noose around his neck. “Eve, I’m trying. I’m trying to make sense of what’s real.”“What’s real?” My voice cracked. I snatched the papers from his hand and slammed them down on the table. “This is not real. She’s n