The Vow We Keep Novels & Stories

“Sssstt... Be quiet please... The senior grandpa has started their marriage vow reciting right now...” “Virando Augustin Kuandy... Here I’m Sumico Kammal Lowie vow to love you, to adore you immensely truly, deeply and sincerely. I vow to always be right next to you when you’re happy, when you’re sad, when you’re at the bottom of your life, when you’re at the top of your life. I vow to accompany you to walk through this path of our lives, love, as well as togetherness. I vow to stay right beside you, going through every heat and rain, passing through every spring, summer, autumn, and winter, until the final full-stop waiting for both of us at the end of this path.”

“Yes.” “And so am I.” They sat like that two people who should not have said any of this breathing the same truth. Daniel didn’t reach for her. Clara didn’t move closer. But the air shifted, the way a confession changes the room even after the words fade. Finally, Daniel spoke: “The purpose of vows is not to erase desire. It’s to decide what you serve when desire comes.” Clara wiped a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand. “Then what do you serve?” she asked.

I said, voice low enough to slip under her ribs, “your body has already chosen to live. Now we teach it how to live. It will require two things: a vow and a price.” “A vow,” she repeated, half-asleep. “Say: ‘I will not let my blood be used to make cages. I will be a blade that opens doors.’” She shivered, then spoke it, and the mirrors carried it away, and the room kept a copy. Vows spoken in a mirror-room pretend to leave you; in truth they wait for you in the long hallway of your next bad choice. “And the price?” she asked.

Together, we made a decision - to trust in our love, in our own strength, and in the power of our choices. With resolve in our hearts, we stood before Seraphina and accepted our destiny as Keepers of the Eternal Flame. We vowed to protect the delicate balance, to stand as beacons of light in a world veiled by shadows. The path ahead was uncertain, filled with challenges and sacrifices, but we were ready to face them together.

“Thank you, Mom.” Rossa nodded. Not far from there, Ronald stood silently, watching. But Livia did not leave just yet. She stepped toward the man once more. “I have done as you asked,” she said softly, yet firmly. “Now you must keep your promise. Never hurt my mother again.” Ronald gave a short nod. A promise. But an empty one. And Livia knew it. She would never truly believe him. Without looking back, Livia walked away. Leaving the old church behind.

They weren’t illusions. And yet here I was, trapped in the role of an outsider, watching him bind himself to another woman. The priest began to speak, his voice resonant, commanding. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Zane Blackwood and Sera Voss in holy matrimony. Marriage is a sacred covenant, a bond not to be entered into lightly, but reverently, in the fear of God and in the joy of love. Today, these two stand before us to pledge their lives to each other…”

It was for something far more intimate, far more sacred. A vow. It was not the very first vow Killian and Seraphina had ever made to one another. The first had been spoken years ago by two young, naive lovers who foolishly believed that passion alone could conquer every incoming storm. This vow, however, would be spoken by two battle-hardened people who had actually survived those storms, borne the deep scars, and chosen to return to the altar anyway. The entire kingdom gathered within the clearing in a profound, respectful silence.

He clutched the bracelet tightly in his hands, trembling uncontrollably. The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached, and the more remorseful he was. He finally understood that I had always been the person he loved the most in his life, and it had never changed. He hated himself for not keeping his distance from Delila and getting too close to her. He hated himself for making me jealous and for ultimately driving me to do something crazy in the end. He kept telling himself that if I were to come back alive, he would drop everything at once to love me again, properly this time. He vowed never to let me suffer any more injustice or grievances. He vowed not to let anyone harass me ag

It was cold, but steady. The officiant began to speak. I barely heard the words. Something about commitment. Duty. Union. A contract. This was not a promise of love. It was a surrender. The air was too still, too tense. Even the sea beyond the open arches seemed to hold its breath. His vows were brief. Precise. Not romantic. But there was a strange tenderness in the way he looked at me when he said them—as if he knew the weight I carried. As if he understood the chains binding us both.

I acted as if I hadn't seen her at all and continued exchanging heartfelt vows with Delilah. Delilah was so moved that tears filled her eyes. "Ry, don't worry. I'll be devoted to you for the rest of my life. I love you." I had heard those same words from Amara before, but for some unexplainable reason, I truly believed Delilah. I believed that she would truly spend the rest of her days with me. "I love you, too." Wrapping our arms around each other, we kissed. I'd never imagined that I could meet such an incredible woman in this lifetime.