All Chapters of Paper Vows, Real Hearts: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The August sun hung low over Savannah, Georgia, casting a warm golden glow across the campus of Magnolia State University. Students hurried between buildings with coffee cups in hand, backpacks slung over their shoulders, and dreams too big to fit inside lecture halls.Pedro Salvador barely noticed any of it.His eyes were fixed on the email glowing on his laptop screen inside the campus library.Final NoticeOutstanding tuition balance: $8,460.Payment required within fourteen days to avoid withdrawal from the semester.He rubbed both hands across his face.“Fourteen days,” he whispered.Fourteen days to find more money than he’d ever had at one time.He worked evenings at a neighborhood grocery store, spent weekends delivering food, and tutored first-year students whenever he could. Every dollar went toward tuition, rent, groceries, and helping his younger sister, Sofia, who lived with their aunt in Atlanta.Still, it wasn’t enough.Pedro closed the laptop before anyone could see th

The rain started just before sunrise.Tiny droplets clung to the courthouse windows, blurring the streets of Savannah into a watercolor painting of gray skies and yellow traffic lights.Pedro Salvador checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time.9:12 a.m.His palms were sweating.He’d taken exams worth half his grade without feeling this nervous.Yet somehow, standing in front of the Chatham County Courthouse in a navy-blue button-down shirt made his stomach twist into knots.He wasn’t getting married.Not really.This was just paperwork.A business arrangement.Nothing more.“You’re early.”Pedro turned around.Liyanna stood beneath a black umbrella, wearing a simple cream-colored dress that reached her knees. Her curly hair fell over one shoulder, and she wore almost no makeup.For a brief second, Pedro forgot to breathe.“You clean up nicely,” she teased.He blinked.“So do you.”She smiled.“Relax. You look like you’re walking into your execution.”

Monday mornings on campus were always chaotic.Students hurried to lectures with coffee in one hand and backpacks slung over the other. The sidewalks buzzed with conversations about quizzes, weekend plans, and professors who assigned far too much reading.Pedro and Liyanna walked side by side toward the engineering building.“You’re going to be late,” Liyanna teased.“I’m five minutes early.”“Exactly. That’s your version of late.”Pedro smiled.“I like being prepared.”“I noticed.”She nudged his shoulder playfully.“And I like making fun of you for it.”Before Pedro could respond, someone called his name.“Pedro!”He stopped.A young woman with long dark hair hurried toward them, smiling brightly.She was dressed in a fitted leather jacket despite the warm weather, and she walked with the confidence of someone who expected to be noticed.“Emily?”Pedro sounded genuinely surprised.She stopped in front of him and smiled.“I was beginning to think you’d forgotten me

Pedro stood frozen at the doorway.Emily’s expression was unusually serious.“I know something about your marriage.”The words echoed through the apartment.Behind Pedro, Liyanna instinctively stepped closer.“What do you mean?” Pedro asked.Emily looked around the hallway before lowering her voice.“Can I come in?”After a brief hesitation, Pedro nodded.“Sure.”The apartment suddenly felt much smaller.Emily remained standing while Pedro and Liyanna sat opposite her.For a long moment, no one spoke.Finally, Emily broke the silence.“Last week, I was interviewing the director of Student Housing for one of my journalism assignments.”Liyanna’s stomach tightened.Emily continued.“They mentioned a married-student orientation.”Pedro’s heart skipped a beat.“I didn’t think much of it until I saw your names on the attendance list.”She looked directly at them.“So I became curious.”Neither Pedro nor Liyanna interrupted.“I started asking questions.”Emily sighed.

The week of the university’s decision felt endless.Every morning, Pedro checked his email before he even got out of bed.Every afternoon, Liyanna refreshed the student portal more times than she cared to admit.Nothing.No decision.No update.Just silence.By Friday afternoon, the silence finally ended.Pedro’s phone vibrated during his engineering lab.Student AffairsHis heart dropped.He excused himself and hurried into the hallway before opening the email.At that exact moment, Liyanna, sitting in the journalism building across campus, received the same message.Subject: Final Review DecisionShe didn’t have the courage to open it alone.Without thinking, she called Pedro.“Did you get it?”“Yeah.”“Don’t read it yet.”“I’m already outside.”“So am I.”“Meet me at the fountain?”“I’ll be there in five.”The campus fountain had become their place.It was where they often met after classes, shared lunch, or simply sat in silence after long days.When Liyanna