Beneath the Vows
LAURA’S POV
In my hands was the contract that had dictated the last several months of my life.
Marriage, bound by ink.
Love, forced through obligation.
Promises, now splintered and splattered across cold paper.
One week left. Seven days. And I’d be free.
But why didn’t it feel like freedom?
I traced the signature line with my finger, heart pounding behind my ribs like it was begging me not to finish this—begging me to stay.
But stay for what? For him?
Elijah Reed—the man who looked at me like I was his world… until that world cracked under the weight of doubt. Until trust turned into surveillance, and love curdled into paranoia.
A soft knock tapped against the bedroom door.
I didn’t answer.
It creaked open anyway.
“Laura,” Richard said gently, stepping in wit
