All Chapters of The Vow That Seventeen Years Erased: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Blood spread across Kat's skin."I know I broke our promise, but I only wanted to give Jason a place to belong."Wait for me one more year. Next Midsummer Eve, I swear I'll pledge myself to you with a rose carving."She thought a few sweet words would win me back, the way they always had.But I stepped back, out of reach of her outstretched hand, and gave the slight nod that village custom called for. "You must be joking, Kat. Fate decides these things. Since we weren't meant to be, why talk about the future?""Nick..." Kat tried to step closer.Jason hurried over, untied the sash at his waist, and bandaged Kat's hand, his face full of worry. "Nick, don't be mad at Kat. She's just like that. She takes everything I say to heart."Don't worry. I'll go explain everything to the elders in a bit. Even if I have to go join a monastery, I'll never come between the two of you."Everyone in the village knew the rule.If one party backed out of a match sealed with tokens, that person wo

My chest suddenly felt tight.Jason had married into the Michielsen family, but less than a year later, Kat's sister, Leah Michielsen, died. The two of them hadn't even left behind a child.Meanwhile, back when Kat got food poisoning, I was the one who risked my life to get her through a snowstorm to the hospital.She owed me a real debt for that, yet I didn't even deserve to be called someone who'd done the family a service."My mom doesn't mean anything by it."Kat walked over. "She just wants Jason to have a proper place in the Michielsen family. The ceremony was kept simple. Can't you see that?"I looked around the courtyard. "Wedding decorations hanging high, silk ribbons flying everywhere, even the wedding hearts on the windows are stamped in gold foil. This is what you call keeping it simple?"Kat's face stiffened for a moment. "What's that supposed to mean?""Nothing.""Nick, you've gone too far."She rubbed her temples. "It's always like this with you. Every single t

The tenderness on Jason's face froze.The village had always had a rule: when a man and woman formally married, whether the bride joined the groom's family or the groom married into hers, the new spouse was entered into the family register.Only then were they officially accepted by the clan.Back when he married into Leah's family, the Michielsens kept putting it off, using the fact that the couple had no children yet as an excuse.After Leah died, he lost any right to it at all.Now that he was with Kat and had given her Haven, he thought he could finally have his name entered into the register as was his due.He never expected Kat to go back on her word on the spot."But if a married couple in this village isn't in the register, they become a laughingstock. I've stayed by your side. This is the dignity you owe me."Kat scoffed, looking at the man in front of her with a sudden coldness and distance in her eyes. "Giving you a place here was already an exception. Back then, y

"You're the one who went back on your word first, having a child with Jason behind my back. Kat, I'm grateful, and at the same time, I'm disgusted, too."Grateful that the day before Midsummer Eve, I overheard you talking with your grandma. Disgusted that all these years, my sincerity was wasted on you. Every time I think about you kissing me with the same mouth you kissed Jason with, I get so sick I can't even eat."Do you know what I thought the day I saw your child with Jason? I hated myself for being so blind!"Kat's hand froze in midair. Tears welled in her eyes until, in the end, she couldn't hold them back. "So what? You're really marrying someone else?""Yes! And it's someone I love and admire. We understand each other perfectly, and we've decided to spend our lives together. You should go!"There was a sharp crack.The rosewood carving in Kat's hand snapped in two.Three years ago, before our coming-of-age ceremony, Kat had already been searching the mountains far and w