All Chapters of Vows Written In Silence : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

73 Chapters

Chapter 21

In Dubai, Omar sat in a private wing of the Al Fayez family estate—a vast desert-edge villa complex of stone courtyards, shaded marble corridors, and silent, staff-controlled wings that never fully slept. He looked toward the direction of Zoya’s wing, where the upper floors disappeared into dim, private light behind heavy stone screens, out of reach even inside the same house. The line went dead with a quiet, digital beep, but the silence that followed it felt entirely too heavy for the walls to contain. Omar sat in the exact same leather chair where he had ended the call. He hadn’t moved since. The phone was still pinned between his heavy fingers, the screen completely dark now, the glass catching the dim amber glow of the desk lamp. Joseph’s voice didn't disappear; it kept replaying in raw, broken fragments through his mind. *She almost died.* *You hurt her so much.* *Act like her father.* That last line stayed the longest. It didn’t sound like an angry accusation from

Chapter 22

By the time Zoya finally came out of the back-to-back briefings, it was already late afternoon. The harsh California sun was hitting the glass wall of her cabin at a sharp angle, cutting long, geometric shadows across the dark mahogany desk. Her morning coffee sat untouched across the room, completely stone-cold with a dark film resting over the surface. Her hair, pulled back into a hurried twist hours ago, had completely given up — several long, dark strands had broken free from the clip, brushing lazily against her cheekbone and the tight, exhausted line of her jaw. She didn't bother to fix it. She was already staring down the documents on her monitors, a heavy silver pen balanced loosely between her fingers. The timber door clicked open without the courtesy of a knock. Faiyaz walked in, sliding his phone into his trouser pocket, a lazy, familiar smirk playing on his lips. He moved into her space with absolute ease, his grey suit jacket unbuttoned, his dark hair styled wit

Chapter 23: Interesting choice of company

He saw Faiyaz first — on the terrace overlooking the third green, leaning back in his chair with the unbothered ease of a man who had never once been uncomfortable anywhere in his life. A tall drink sat on the table. His linen jacket was off. The golden-hour light was doing what it always did for people who looked like Faiyaz, which was entirely unfair. And then Raiyan saw who was sitting directly across from him. He stopped dead in his tracks. Isaac halted half a step behind him, reading the sudden drop in temperature in approximately one second. He said absolutely nothing. Zoya was sitting sideways in her chair like she owned the square footage. Her leather jacket was draped over the back of the seat, long forgotten. She was wearing a fitted ivory ribbed top — long sleeve, the fabric sitting close against her frame without announcing itself — and her hair was down, dark and silky, loosely gathered at one side so that most of it fell over her shoulder in a long, clean wa

Chapter 24

Faiyaz straightened up immediately, the lazy charm vanishing. "Careful, Mr. Mansoor." Zoya reached out and touched Faiyaz's wrist once. Just a single pressure of her fingers. Faiyaz stopped talking instantly. That immediate obedience was the final straw for Raiyan. It looked too familiar. It looked like a partnership he had no part in. Zoya looked up at Raiyan and smiled. It was beautiful. It was dangerous. It was lethal. "Please do," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "Actually, I dare you to do it as soon as humanly possible." Raiyan's eyes narrowed into slits. She crossed her legs slowly, completely at ease under his shadow. "How about starting with the shell companies," she continued pleasantly. "Or maybe the European subsidiaries? Adam still operates most of them, after all. You know Adam — your ex-brother-in-law. The one who basically saved you from my evil clutch." Silence dropped over the terrace like a heavy iron curtain. Even Isaac froze. Raiyan stared down

Chapter 25: Left edge

She could play. She wasn't brilliant, but she had clearly held premium graphite before — her stance was too natural, her grip too sure on the leather. She had been performing complete ignorance for approximately forty-five seconds before he caught on to the rhythm. "You've played before," he noted, watching her adjust her feet. "I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," she lied, her eyes fixed strictly on the ball. "Your grip says otherwise." "My grip is entirely random." "Your stance isn't." She said nothing to that. She addressed the ball with the focused attention of a woman who was not going to give him the satisfaction of a verbal confession. Raiyan stepped up, crossing the grass until he was standing directly behind her. He didn't do it to correct her form — there was nothing wrong with her alignment. He came because the space was there, because he was entirely starved of her proximity, and because she was standing three feet away in the golden light looking exa

Chapter 26

His hands moved to her waist — bare skin where her shirt had shifted — and gripped. One hand at her hip. Firm. Possessive. Pulling her lower body back until she was pressed flush against his thighs in the open afternoon sun. She went completely breathless. A sharp shiver ripped straight down her spine. Her heart was hammering violently against her ribs, her pulse jumping so hard it was visible at the hollow of her throat. He did not stop. His hands slid up from her waist, his palms tracing the line of her ribcage, slow and deliberate, tracking upward with the specific unhurried certainty of a man who had memorized every inch of her and had decided that two and a half years of distance changed nothing about that. Zoya’s instinct fired. Her hand flew down, her fingers locking around his wrist with a white-knuckled grip. She clamped down with everything she had, physically stopping him. Her breath hitched, her throat tight, her arm pressed back against her own ribs holding him

Chapter 27

Faiyaz looked over her shoulder, his dark eyes meeting Raiyan’s across the stone terrace. Raiyan looked back, his face a mask of unyielding, possessive gravity. Faiyaz raised his glass slightly — a small, private acknowledgment between two men who knew the war had officially begun. Raiyan said nothing. He watched her walk away toward the parking valet. Her clubs over one shoulder. Her chin held high. Her ears still burning pink at the edges. He stood alone on the terrace in the fading afternoon light, feeling a sudden violent surge of something he had spent two long years trying to bury. He felt like he had somewhere to be. Like Saturday finally existed after all. That night he could not sleep. It was not the bet. It was her wrist. The thin silver line under the watch strap. The way his thumb had hovered over it for one involuntary second before he pulled back. The specific quiet of a scar that had been carried for a long time and never explained. He had filed a thousand

Chapter 28

The pool at the back of the manor was already warm from the late afternoon sun.Liyana was already in the water, kicking her legs with an aggressive, frantic speed as if she were trying to outrun the entire world at once. Eleanor had insisted on the pony float seat—the one with the high, soft side supports to prevent full submersion—but the safety features didn't slow the child down by a single millimeter.“Granny, look!” Liyana slapped the water with both hands, immediately laughing at her own success. “Look, look, look.”Raina was waist-deep in the shallow end, her dark hair tied up in a messy, hurried knot, one hand steadily anchoring the float without hovering too much. She smiled every time Liyana splashed, but the warmth didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her attention remained split, trapped between being present and being somewhere else entirely.Eleanor sat on the wicker lounger beneath the wide shade umbrella, her sunglasses on, her posture projecting a relaxed ease that wasn't ac

Chapter 29

The shareholders left at six. The conference room had that specific aftermath—cold coffee, too many chairs pulled at wrong angles, the residue of three hours of managed anxiety. Zayed stood. Picked up his jacket. Looked at Raiyan. “The subsidiary comment,” he said. “In front of them.” “It needed to be said.” “It signals—” “Preparation.” Raiyan closed the file. “Not weakness.” Zayed looked at him for a moment. The specific look of a man who had something else to say and was deciding whether to say it. He put his jacket on. “Go home,” Raiyan said. “I will finish the liability brief.” Zayed left. Raiyan sat in the empty room. His assistant appeared at the door at six forty-seven. Stayed at the threshold. “Sir. Missed calls.” Raiyan looked up. “Eleanor called twice. And—“ A beat. “Raina called your personal line at seven forty-three. Then the office line at seven fifty-one.” Raiyan looked at him. “That was an hour ago.” “I did not want to interrupt th

Chapter 30

Zoya’s car was already moving when his came around the corner. Not fast. Just—pulling out of the alley exit onto the side street. Raina was in the passenger seat. Adrian was still on the pavement behind them, his back half-turned as he talked to the station over the phone. Michael saw it first. “Sir—” “Stop the car.” The high-beams caught the Porsche directly. Zoya braked. Raiyan was out of the vehicle before Michael had even fully stopped. He crossed the distance between the cars in eight long steps. Zoya’s window slid down. She looked up at him, taking in whatever was raw and exposed in his face right now. She didn't look surprised. She just looked like a woman who had been expecting this exact collision and had decided not to run from it. Raina opened her door before he even reached the handle. She stepped out onto the damp asphalt, still shivering, her wool coat pulled tight against her chest. Her lower lip was doing that small, frantic thing it always did when s

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