Beyond the Vows

CHAPTER 1

The church bells tolled with a cruel finality, their echoes pounding inside Hannah Anderson’s chest like war drums. Every note reminded her of what she was about to lose;no, what she had already lost.

Her breath trembled as she sat frozen in the last pew, clutching the silk of her dress as if it might anchor her to sanity. But sanity was a luxury she didn’t have anymore. Not while Ethan Thompson,the man who had once whispered that he couldn’t breathe without her ,stood at the altar, ready to vow forever to another woman.

“You may now kiss your bride,” Reverend Christopher announced, his voice echoing across the vaulted ceiling.

And Hannah’s world shattered.

She gripped the pew, her nails digging into the polished wood, as Ethan cupped Mabel's face and pressed his lips against hers. The applause erupted, the crowd rose, and flashbulbs exploded like fireworks,but Hannah heard none of it. She was drowning in silence, choking on memories that stabbed at her heart with merciless precision.

I’ll never let you go, Hannah. Ethan’s voice echoed in her head, cruel in its tenderness. Mabel is just an obligation. You’re the one I want, the one I love.

Yet here he was, wearing a smile that didn’t look forced at all.

Her throat constricted. A sob tore through her, but she smothered it quickly, forcing her body to remain still, invisible. The grand church, once a place she found sacred, now mocked her,a stage where she was the discarded extra in a love story she thought was hers.

How foolish she had been.

How utterly naïve to think she could ever end up with New York’s most untouchable CEO.

Hannah’s vision blurred, tears sliding hot and relentless down her cheeks. She couldn’t watch another second. With every ounce of will left in her, she rose from her seat and slipped out of the row, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. Each step away felt like a betrayal of her own heart, but she couldn’t breathe in there anymore.

She needed air. She needed to escape before she screamed.

The bathroom door swung shut behind her, muting the sounds of celebration. Hannah braced against the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her mascara had betrayed her, dark streaks tracing the agony on her face.

“What did I do wrong?” she whispered to the woman in the glass. “Why wasn’t I enough?”

But the mirror had no answers,only the truth of a broken woman staring back.

“Hannah.”

The voice was deep, smooth, carrying an edge that slid under her skin like a blade. She froze, her fingers tightening on the sink. That voice. She hadn’t heard it in years.

Turning slowly, she met eyes she had hoped never to see again.

“Alex,” she breathed, her voice cracking with shock and fury.

He leaned casually against the bathroom doorway, hands in his pockets, wearing that same disarming smile that once melted her defenses. Except now, it only reignited her rage.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she snapped, every muscle in her body tensing.

“Nice to see you too,” Alex said, his tone light, though his eyes searched her face with an intensity that unsettled her.

“Get out.” Her words were clipped, sharp, her voice a trembling shield against the storm of memories threatening to consume her.

He took a slow step closer, his cologne familiar, achingly familiar. “I saw you slip away. Thought you might need someone. You look… broken.”

Hannah’s jaw clenched. “Don’t.”

“I still care, you know,” he murmured, his voice dipping lower.

“Shut up!” Her fury burst forth like wildfire. “You don’t get to say that. Not after everything. Not after seven years!”

For the first time, Alex’s smile faltered, and something raw flickered in his gaze;regret maybe, or pain. But Hannah refused to let it touch her. She shoved past him, her shoulder colliding hard against his chest, and stormed out into the corridor.

She didn’t look back.

Back inside the church, the newlyweds were surrounded by laughter, applause, and camera flashes. Hannah didn’t pause to watch. She picked up her bag from the rear pew and strode straight for the exit. The grand doors opened, sunlight spilling over her like a spotlight, as if the universe itself wanted to watch her humiliation.

Her hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel of her car, her chest heaving. What had possessed her to come here? What was she thinking!!??,that some miracle would happen? That Ethan would look into her eyes and realize he couldn’t go through with it?

The tears she had held back all day broke free, blinding her as she pulled into traffic. But before her sorrow could consume her completely, her phone buzzed violently against the console.

She snatched it up. “Hello?” Her voice cracked, raw.

“Hannah?” It was Mia, her younger sister. And she was crying.

Hannah’s stomach plummeted. “Mia, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Mom…” Mia’s voice fractured into sobs. “The doctor said it’s getting worse. She..she collapsed again.”

The words crashed into Hannah like a wrecking ball. For a moment, the world outside her windshield blurred, her hands going cold on the steering wheel.

Her heart had already been bleeding from Ethan. Now, with her mother’s health spiraling… she wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

And yet, she knew this was only the beginning.