TANGLED VOW 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 8

The bass thumped through the crowded mansion like a second heartbeat, but Elena Voss felt hers stuttering in her throat. Crystal chandeliers cast fractured light across designer dresses and tailored suits, while laughter sliced through the air like shards of glass. This was supposed to be a celebration. Richard Hale’s latest business triumph but for Elena, it felt like walking a tightrope over a pit of wolves.“You’re still a virgin, aren’t you, Ellie?” Jake sneered, his arm slung around a girl whose dress was shorter than her dignity. His new girlfriend smirked, champagne glass dangling from manicured fingers. “Little Miss Perfect. Always preaching about waiting for the right person. What’s it been twenty-two years of nothing?”Heat flooded Elena’s cheeks. It wasn’t just the mockery. In their circle the elite offspring of CEOs, investors, and old money image was currency. Jake had already spread whispers that she was “frigid” and “unapproachable” after she turned him down last year.

The morning light stabbed through the heavy curtains of the guest room like an accusation. Elena lay staring at the ceiling, her silk nightdress twisted around her legs from a sleepless night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Cassian’s stormy gaze and heard his mocking toast: *To family.*She had barely slept. The weight of her lie pressed on her chest like a stone. Two weeks of pretending. Two weeks of his rules, his proximity, his control.A sharp knock on the door made her jolt upright.“Breakfast in twenty minutes,” Cassian’s voice came through the wood, clipped and commanding. “Wear something that doesn’t make you look like you’re attending your own funeral. We’re selling this, remember?”Elena clenched her jaw. “Go to hell, Cassian.”A low, dangerous chuckle. “Already there, stepsister. And you’re coming with me.”She dressed carefully— a soft cream blouse tucked into high-waisted navy trousers, delicate gold necklace, hair in loose waves. Respectable. Approachable. Not

The private lounge felt smaller than it was, the heavy velvet drapes and antique furniture closing in like witnesses to a trial. Elena’s hand remained trapped in Cassian’s grip warm, steady, and the only thing anchoring her as Richard Hale’s words echoed.“Amelia’s grandparents,” Richard repeated, voice low and controlled, the same tone he used when closing unfavorable deals. “They want answers. They never fully approved the adoption, and this scandal gives them ammunition. If they push for a review…”Sophia dabbed her eyes. “We did everything right. Elena was part of our family the moment I brought her home.”Elena’s chest ached. She had always known she was the bridge between grief and hope, but never the potential wrecking ball. “This is my fault,” she said quietly. “I started the lie. I’ll end it. Tomorrow I can issue a statement saying I made it up to”“No.” Cassian’s voice cut through like a blade. His fingers tightened around hers, almost painfully. “We don’t run. We control th

The silence in the sitting room was deafening. Cassian stood frozen in the doorway, his face drained of color, gray eyes locked on Elena like she had just driven a knife into his back.“Tell me,” he repeated, voice dangerously low. “Everything she said. Word for word.”Elena’s throat tightened. She wrapped her arms around herself, the silk slip suddenly feeling too exposed. “Cassian… sit down.”“I don’t want to sit.” He stepped inside, closing the door behind him with controlled force. “I want the truth. Now.”She repeated Mrs. Langford’s words the secret twin brother, the car crash, the hidden records, the suggestion that her own adoption had been rushed to bury guilt or worse. With every sentence, Cassian’s expression fractured further. The arrogant mask shattered completely, revealing raw, bleeding pain.“A brother,” he whispered when she finished. His hands clenched at his sides. “I had a brother. And they hid him from me. For sixteen years.”Elena reached for him, but he flinched