Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Silence Between Our Vows: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 9

The loudest part of our wedding was not the music, but the silence that followed our vows. Zara held the bouquet with trembling fingers as the guests applauded around her. Adrian stood beside her, handsome and distant, wearing the expression of a man who had signed a business agreement rather than married a woman. The church was filled with light, music, and the smell of fresh roses, yet she felt none of it. All she could hear was the echo of the vows they had spoken minutes ago; promises that sounded beautiful in front of hundreds of people but felt strangely hollow standing between them. Adrian did not look at her. He thanked the priest with a polite nod, adjusted the cuff of his black suit, and stepped aside to allow the photographer closer. “Mr. and Mrs. Moretti, just one smile please,” the photographer said cheerfully. Zara turned toward her new husband. For a brief second, Adrian’s eyes met hers. They were dark, unreadable, and completely absent of warmth. He offer

Adrian’s hand moved to his jacket too quickly.Not the reaction of a man protecting a business document.The reaction of a man protecting a secret.Zara looked away before he could remove the card. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing the hurt on her face.“Excuse me,” she said.She turned and walked toward table nine, each step measured, each breath controlled.The hall suddenly felt smaller.Louder.Sharper.Conversations brushed against her like blades.“Beautiful ceremony.”“She’s not from their circle, is she?”“I heard the marriage happened very quickly.”Zara kept walking.By the time she reached her table, her smile had become a mask.Table nine sat near the glass wall overlooking the gardens. Not hidden, but far enough from the head table to remind her exactly where she belonged.A waiter pulled out her chair.“Congratulations, Mrs. Moretti.”The title sounded expensive.Not intimate.She sat down and stared at the untouched place setting before her. Gold cutler

The room held its breath.Adrian’s eyes remained fixed on the envelope, and the fear in them was so sudden, so unguarded, that Zara almost forgot her own confusion.“Leave us,” he said.The words were directed at his mother.Mrs. Moretti closed the ledger with deliberate care. “I think Zara deserves answers.”“And I think this is not the way.”Their voices were controlled, but the tension between them felt older than the house itself.Zara looked from one to the other. “Someone needs to tell me what is happening.”Neither answered immediately.Mrs. Moretti picked up the brass key from the desk. “Midnight is approaching,” she said softly. “Decide quickly, Adrian.”Then she walked past him and disappeared into the corridor.The door clicked shut.Silence rushed back into the study.Adrian entered fully and closed the distance between them. Up close, he looked less like the untouchable man from the reception and more like someone carrying too many sleepless nights.“You shouldn’t be here

The world did not stop.That was the first thing Zara noticed.The clock kept ticking.Rain began tapping softly against the windows.Somewhere in the estate, distant laughter still drifted from the reception hall.And yet, with four words, everything inside her had shifted.Your father is missing.Adrian ended the call slowly.Zara stared at him. “What did Matteo say?”His silence lasted one second too long.“Adrian.”“He said your father left his apartment an hour ago and never arrived at the clinic where he was supposed to meet someone.”The clinic.Her father never went out at night unless it was important.A cold pressure tightened around her ribs.“I’m calling him.”Her fingers shook as she unlocked her phone.One ring.Two.Three.Voicemail.She called again.Voicemail.Again.Nothing.The fear that had been circling her finally landed.“He always answers me.”Adrian watched her carefully. “When did you speak to him last?”“This afternoon. Before the ceremony.”“What did he say

For a long moment, neither Zara nor Adrian spoke.The underground chamber hummed softly around them, the single bulb casting pale light over the scattered hospital records.Guardian.The word kept echoing in Zara’s mind.Not father.Not mother.Guardian.She lowered the papers slowly, afraid that if she moved too quickly, the little certainty she had left would break apart completely.“Tell me I’m reading this wrong.”Adrian looked at the documents again before answering.“I wish you were.”Rain thundered somewhere above them, distant but relentless.Zara pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead.Twenty five years of memories flashed through her mind; her father teaching her to ride a bicycle, waiting outside her school, burning pancakes on Sunday mornings because he insisted on making breakfast himself.Love had never felt fake.So how could her life be?“Daniel Vale raised me,” she whispered. “He loved me.”Adrian’s expression softened for the first time since they entered