Copyright © 2019 Brewsings
No part of this work is to be copied and distributed without the prior written permission of the Author.
Synopsis
‘I do’ was supposed to mark the beginning of forever. Marriage promised safety, devotion, and the chance to build a life rooted in trust. But when long-buried secrets rise to the surface, that promise shatters. The vows once spoken with certainty now echo with doubt, turning love into a battlefield between loyalty and betrayal.
What happens when the person you trust most hides the deepest deception? When the home you dreamed of building together begins to feel like a house of cards, every choice becomes a test of strength, forgiveness, and survival.
In the struggle between passion and truth, loyalty and self-preservation, the heart is forced to confront its limits. How much can be forgiven? How far can love stretch before it breaks? And when deception cuts too deep, is protecting the one you love an act of devotion or destruction?
A tense, gripping exploration of the fragile line between love and survival, where every secret has a cost, and every vow demands a price.
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Prologue
“Yes, I do,” he replied with a grin.
He’s tall and slim, with clean-shaven beards, dressed in a white suit, while his soon-to-be wife was dressed to the nines in a stunning white gown studded with diamond stones.
Her heels gave her an extra boost of height, as she is the petite type with a beautiful face. Her red lips and round hips are her best features. While her husband had brown eyes, she had blue eyes, which could light up a whole room of darkness.
They always teased each other about their features and made fun of who was taller and shorter.
“Grissel, do you take this man as your lawful wedded husband?” the priest asked again for the second time.
Grissel was deep in thought.
“Babes, are you okay?”
Tom, her soon-to-be husband, asked with a shoulder tap. He was every lady’s dream, but that morning he belonged to his shy and gentle heartthrob.
“Huh!” she blinked, startled.
“The priest asked a question,” Tom whispered with a frown.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, not to anyone in particular.
The crowd stirred with low murmurs, exchanging puzzled looks at Grissel’s hesitation.
“We can continue,” she quietly announced to the old priest reading the vows.
They had written their own vows, but Grissel told him that morning when she sat beside him during the service that she had forgotten hers. Tom didn’t want to sound upset on his long-awaited happy day, so he quickly arranged for the church vows.
Tom glanced at her with an expression that informed her she was in for a lot of trouble. She was already having trouble picturing their honeymoon, as she’s not sure what to expect.
She was still in her thoughts when the smooth voice of the priest jerked her out.
“Do you take this man as your law…?” The priest was cut short.
Her small, red lips parted at last. “Yes, I do.”
Soon enough, the church ceremony came to an end, and the reception roared to life.
But Tom’s playful faces across the table unsettled Grissel, making it hard for her to blend in.
Like earlier on the dance floor, he ignored her gestures, answering only with a weary sigh.
“Were you having second thoughts?” he finally asked when they retired to their chairs.
The cheers and noise of family and friends throbbed in her head, and she forced a smile.
“That’s what I thought,” he muttered, drawing his own conclusion.
“No, Tom, I wasn’t. I just wa—” she began, but the MC’s booming voice interrupted.
“Tom, can you tell us how you met this angel?”
The crowd erupted with cheers. Tom hesitated, his eyes flickering toward Grissel. Her fingers pressed lightly against his thigh, a silent plea, before she managed a strained smile.
“Please don’t do this to me!” She whispered, almost desperate.
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