Alle Kapitel von Shattered Vows: Kapitel 71 – Kapitel 80

Chapter 70 – The Closing Chapter of LiesAlthea’s POVThe morning sunlight poured gently through the tall windows of my apartment, painting golden streaks across the polished wooden floor. I sat on the edge of the bed, hands wrapped around a cup of steaming coffee, staring at nothing in particular. The world outside was alive cars moving, people hurrying, birds taking flight but inside, I felt a fragile stillness, the kind that comes after a storm has passed and you’re left sifting through the remnants of everything that once seemed like chaos.It had been months since Damian and I had finally confronted our past, renewed our vows in private, and promised each other honesty, transparency, and respect. Months since the Navarro empire had begun to slowly heal, the power struggles and betrayals settling into history. Months since Darius had returned from abroad, quiet, steady, and still carrying a piece of my heart that would ne

Chapter 72 – The Letters She Never SentAlthea’s POVI sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the blank pages of the journal I bought yesterday.“Just write,” I told myself.My hand didn’t move.So I spoke instead.“You don’t owe them anything,” I whispered.“But you owe yourself honesty.”I uncapped the pen.Damian,I paused, staring at his name.“Don’t soften it,” I murmured. “Say it the way it was.”I continued.Damian,I don’t know if you ever understood how much silence can hurt more than cruelty.My chest tightened.“You always thought you were protecting me,” I said quietly. “But you were protecting your control.”I wrote again.You loved me in the way someone loves a possession they’re afraid to lose.I stopped.“That doesn’t mean you didn’t love me,” I added alou

Chapter 74 – Damian’s RedemptionAlthea’s POV“I don’t want to go.”Mara paused by the door, her hand still on the handle. “You don’t have to.”“I know,” I said. “That’s the problem.”She studied my face for a long second. “Do you want to hear it? Or do you want closure without reopening anything?”I exhaled. “I want to know who he is now.”She nodded once. “Then let’s go.”The press hall smelled like polished wood and artificial calm.Microphones lined the stage like weapons disguised as tools.I slipped into a seat at the back, sunglasses on, head slightly bowed.“No one will notice you,” Mara whispered.I didn’t answer.Because I already had.Damian was standing at the podium.He looked thinner.Not the dramatic kind of broken that demanded sympathynjust quieter. Smaller around the shoulders.

Chapter 76 – The Beach ReunionAlthea’s POV“Are you sure about this?”I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “No.”Mara glanced at me from the passenger seat. “That wasn’t reassuring.”“I didn’t say I was afraid,” I replied. “I said I’m not sure.”She smirked. “You always say that when it’s something that matters.”The sea appeared ahead wide, endless, unapologetic.My chest tightened.“This place,” I murmured. “I didn’t think I’d ever come back.”“And yet,” Mara said softly, “here you are.”The resort hadn’t changed.Same pale stone paths.Same wind that smelled like salt and memory.Same stretch of sand that once held promises I didn’t know were fragile.I stepped out of the car.The sound of waves hit me harder than expected.“Text me if you need an escape,” Mara said.I nodded. “Or a witnes

Chapter 78 – The PromiseAlthea’s POV“If it’s meant to be,” Darius said, his voice barely louder than the waves, “we’ll find our way back.”I stopped walking.Not because the words surprised me but because they didn’t demand anything from me.I turned slowly. “That sounds like something you practiced saying.”He smiled faintly. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s the first honest thing I’ve said without rehearsing.”I crossed my arms, more out of habit than cold. “You know promises used to terrify me.”“I know,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t make one.”“That sounded like a promise,” I pointed out.“No,” he replied gently. “It sounded like faith without expectation.”I studied his face the lines time had etched there, the calm that hadn’t existed before. “You’ve changed.”“So have you,” he said. “That’s why this feels… safer.”We st