Virtuous Vows Book Novels & Stories

It was not recognized by any court or church, but in the eyes of Valerio’s family—and their enemies—it was binding. “Sera Vale,” the priest said, “do you vow to take Valerio Thorne, not only in this life but in all the ones that follow? To share his burdens, his darkness, and his crown?” “I do,” she whispered. “Valerio Thorne,” the priest continued, “do you vow to take Sera Vale, not only in this life but in all the ones that follow? To shield her from every blade, even if it must strike you first?”

My mouth felt dry as I replied: "That's impossible, he trusts me." He chuckled, "Ha. The two least trustworthy things in this world are a pig that can climb a tree and a man's promise." I was left speechless. He handed me the untouched coffee on the table again: "You're thirsty, have a drink. Relax, even if I want to do something to you, I have plenty of opportunities. I won't use such a tawdry scheme." He finished speaking and turned his face to continue watching the stage. However, I was almost on the verge of an internal collapse due to his words. I'm not afraid of him intimidating me with his statement.

Each gave a vow. “To protect.” “To forgive.” “To remember.” When it was Arthur’s turn, he stepped forward, voice clear and unwavering. "I vow to guard this covenant not only with strength, but with humility. To protect the flame not as a symbol of dominance, but of guidance." Isabella followed. Her hand touched the scroll, eyes fierce. "I vow to raise the voices long silenced. To open every chamber hidden in shadow. To light every corner with truth." And finally, Catherine. “I vow to lead not from behind curtains, but among the people. Not with power, but with purpose.”

But I let it go. The vows are a lot. In a good way. Emotional, a little awkward at times (Adrian stumbles over his words at one point and Christine laughs mid vow, which honestly makes it better), but real. And somewhere in the middle of it, I realize something. Again. That has been at the back of my mind but it’s more clearer. I’m not scared like I used to be. Or maybe I am but it doesn’t control me anymore. The reception is louder.

His voice echoed too loudly in the gilded room. I spoke with measured elegance, every word cutting through my mouth like glass wrapped in silk. “I, Kellynne Mea Morleigh, take thee, Elias Callum Fenwick, to be my wedded husband...” I paused. Just for a heartbeat. To remember who I was. To gather whatever fragments remained of the girl who once believed in affection. “…to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer…” my voice did not waver. But my soul did.

I'd rather have you here with clear boundaries than continue as we have been, with you constantly questioning whether refusal is safe. Sienna felt tears threatening again, but these were different. Not devastation, but something closer to relief mixed with disbelief. "You're really promising this? Not as manipulation, not as temporary concession but as permanent change?" "I'm vowing it," Luca clarified. "In my world, vows matter. They're not casual promises but binding commitments. I'm vowing not to touch you without consent, and I'll honor that vow regardless of desire, regardless of opportunity, regardless of how much I want to break it."

But Damien just smiled. "Miss Vale, we're all adults here. Everyone has their own moral boundaries. I don't care who Serena has feelings for in her heart. Since she married me, she's my wife. As long as I don't see her doing anything inappropriate with my own eyes, I choose to trust her. Besides, we're all adults and having someone in your heart is quite normal, isn't it? Like you, Miss Vame, haven't you ever had feelings for someone else? It's the same thing. Women like looking at men and men like looking at women. As long as it doesn't cross the moral line, I'm fine with it..." Katrina couldn't believe it. Damien actually talked about having moral boundaries, could someone who often fooled

Give us the Heart, or be erased. "I’m not erasing anything!" I screamed back, stepping forward. I felt the heat of Dante’s power at my back, a protective wall of flame, but I knew I had to do this alone. "You were the ones who made the pact! You were the ones who decided that the Shadows needed a Scribe to keep the world in balance!" The spirit hissed, her translucent hand reaching out. She touched my forehead, and the world dissolved. I wasn't in the cabin anymore. I was in a void of pure white, surrounded by scrolls that stretched into infinity. The spirit stood before me, her form now solid. She wore the same style of Vance robes I’d seen in old portraits.

Antoine tells the room generally, which produces a warm ripple of laughter that breaks the formality exactly correctly, and Vincent laughs through whatever he was doing with his face and looks at me and takes a breath and says his vows. He says them steadily and specifically and without looking at the paper because he also wrote them from the heart, and they are about freedom and patience and the specific education of watching someone choose themselves into fullness and being changed by it, and they are the truest things I have heard him say, and that is considerable because he has said many true things across fourteen months. When the rings go on, I feel Clara move, a sharp definitive flutt

“God…. Ethan….fuck me “ I said, the words were like a desperate prayer. I grabbed his shoulder and digged my fingers in his chest as I moaned. The sound was not a performance. It was a cry from the deepest part of me, a part of me that had been buried alive for years. Yes this wasn't part of the mission but it was still it. The initial plan had been a slow, calculated seduction, a long, drawn out game of cat and mouse. This… this was a train wreck. But it was still a part of it because I'm on to make the Malcovichs pay, whatever it will take, I don't mind. I had to let him in. I had to let him touch me, to feel me, to possess me. Because in the end, I would be the one to take everything from