The Vow we break

Chapter One

Prologue

The Chains That Bind Us

Maya’s POV

Above me, the chandelier glowed brightly and blindingly, like a thousand broken dreams. Its light, a representation of the Wolfe family's wealth, was as icy and piercing as the guy next to me, Adrian Wolfe, my future husband. As Maya Bennett, the girl who once dreamed of love, I found myself in the horrible comedy of marrying a man I hardly knew—a man who didn't even want me.

"Do you, Adrian Wolfe, take Maya Bennett as your lawful wife?" The quiet was broken by the officiant's speech.

I waited for his response while holding my breath. He glanced at me, and for a moment I saw a glimmer of something tender, perhaps even remorseful, beneath his hard eyes. But it was gone as fast as it had arrived, replaced by the icy apathy I had learned to anticipate from him.

With every syllable a shard of ice piercing my heart, he said, "I do."

The celebrant looked at me. "Maya Bennett, do you consider Adrian Wolfe to be your legal spouse?"

Gazing into those dark, unfathomable eyes, I swallowed. My mind was racing and my legs were stuck, even though my heart was telling me to go. This connection was essential to the existence of my family. I inhaled deeply before whispering, "I do."

The audience cheered, but it seemed hollow, like the applause given in a theater after a tragedy has been revealed. Adrian's hand moved over my in a way that was almost clinically deliberate. The vows had ended. We were doomed.

Adrian leaned in close, his breath warm against my ear as we walked away from the altar. His voice was so low that only I could hear him whisper, "Maya, don't expect anything from me." "This marriage is just a business deal. Avoid making it more than that.

As his words struck me like a slap, my throat constricted and my heartbeat quickened. I felt sick to my stomach and briefly feared fainting. Chained to a man who didn't give a damn about my life or death, how could I make it through this frigid prison of a marriage?

After three months...

As I crammed the last of my belongings into a suitcase, the rain mercilessly and relentlessly pounded the windows. It was 2:30 a.m. when I looked at the clock. If I was lucky, Adrian wouldn't realize I was gone until it was too late since he would be asleep.

With trembling hands, I closed the bag. It was this. Before I lost everything I had, I was leaving him and this gilded cage. I took a deep breath as my fingertips touched my stomach. I was no longer the only one involved. Adrian had proved himself to be a heartless, cold guy, and I had to shield my kid from him. I wanted to keep my pregnancy a secret from him, and he was unaware of it.

There was a knock on the door, breaking the quiet. My heart stopped beating.

"Maya?" Through the heavy door, his words seemed like a murky whisper. "Are you conscious?"

I clutched the handle of my luggage as I froze. He never, ever visited my room. Why now? I feared he may hear my heartbeat through the door because it was so loud.

I took a trembling breath and tried to sound composed. "Yes, I am awake."

He was there, half-shadowed, his dark eyes narrowing as they darted to the suitcase beside me as the door slowly opened.

"Going somewhere?"

Every nerve in my body begged me to flee because his voice was so silky and subtly menacing. However, there was nowhere to go.

I made an effort to grin. It isn't anything. I was only arranging my belongings.

He looked down at the luggage and then back up at my face before taking a hesitant step forward to get closer. I had trouble thinking clearly because of his eerie, seductive aroma, which was reminiscent of smoke and spices.

"Is that correct?" His hand extended to trace a single finger along the suitcase's edge as he whispered. "Or are you running away?"

He set a deliberate trap with his incisive words. The untruth weighed heavily on my tongue as I swallowed. Adrian, why would I run? This is where I call home.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "Maya, because I've been observing you. You've been agitated. Far away. Additionally, it appears that you have forgotten the terms of our marriage.

Words escaping my grasp, I swallowed. You're referring to the contract in which I act as a possession? A doll on your arm that doesn't talk?

He didn't respond, but his eyes darkened. Rather, he took a step toward me, and I could feel the hazardous tension between us growing. I could sense the heat radiating from his body and smell the subtle whiskey on his breath. A part of me was attracted to him like a moth to a flame, and another part of me wanted to run away.

"Maya, tell me something." There was a faint rumbling in his voice. "What brings you here?"

"What do you mean?" With hardly more than a whisper, I asked.

His eyes were sharp and inquisitive. "Maya, why are you in my life? Given that you obviously don't want this, why do you stay?

The unstated significance of the words hung between us. This was my chance, my chance to be honest with him about the baby and my intention to go. But my gut twisted into knots as terror held me back.

I muttered, "Because I had no choice," instead.

He appeared surprised for a moment, his eyes softening slightly. He soon concealed it, though, and his face went back to its icy, impenetrable mask.

"Then allow me to clarify." His words were oozing with dominance, and his voice was icy and scathing. "My wife is you. This is where you belong. Never consider going for a run.

His fingers touched my cheek, almost caressing it. However, there was a warning glimmer in his gaze that chilled my blood.

His voice was like velvet-wrapped steel as he said, "Maya, I won't let you go." "Not right now. Never.

The severity of his words sank in like an anchor around my heart as I stood there, breathless and shaken, while he turned and left. A single tear trickled down my cheek as I stroked my stomach. I was stuck, and that was the obvious threat. But I had to find a way out for the sake of my baby.

Even at the expense of everything.