He Broke His Vow, I Vanished Forever

Chapter 6

The umbrella clattered to the ground.

The woman in the white dress turned around, and there it was, a face that looked hauntingly like Elestria, yet it was not her. She was not the Elestria who had stood by his side, day after day, for thirteen years.

"Who are you?" Kyran let go of her wrist, his voice sharp and cold.

The woman stepped back under his hard stare, her voice barely a whisper. "Mr. Valtor... hello. I am Adela. Your mother sent me to meet you."

Kyran unlocked his phone and finally saw the message his mother had sent half an hour earlier.

Mom: Kyran, I have chosen a young woman for you. Since you will not divorce Elestria, I picked one who looks just like her. Give me a grandchild with Adela, and I can rest in peace.

He read the message, then lifted his eyes back to the woman standing before him.

Adela stood there, soaked from the storm, her face pale, shivering in the wind. The white dress, the heavy rain, and that face so much like Elestria's, it all pulled him back ten years, to a rainy day when Elestria had looked just as young and fragile.

He felt a flicker of pity rise in his chest for this girl. "There are dry clothes in the guest room. Change, and then leave." His voice was cold as he walked past her, without looking back.

He never saw the satisfied smile that touched Adela's lips once his back was turned.

Back in the living room, Kyran sat down on the sofa where Elestria always used to sit. Out of habit, he pulled out his phone and opened their message thread. She still had not replied, except to ask for money.

He glanced at the date, January 22nd. Elestria had left the day after New Year's Eve. She had been gone for twenty-two days.

Had all this time changed her into someone he no longer knew?

Kyran: Elestria, you wanted money, did you not? Why are you not coming back to get it?

He sent the message, then waited. Silence. Not a single reply. Perhaps it was the alcohol in his blood, but something inside him broke. He was done giving in to her.

Kyran: Elestria, I have loved you for thirteen years. Be honest with yourself, have I not treated you well? Since we married, you have had everything you could ever want. Show me one wealthy man in Crown Bay who does not have another woman... show me any wife who lives a better life than you... so many women would give anything to be Mrs. Valtor... but I have only ever wanted you. After all these years, I do not owe you anything more.

The message was sent, and still... silence.

Kyran felt a tightness in his chest he could not explain. He typed, deleted, typed again, and then, as if to show her his frustration, he took a screenshot of his mother's message and sent it to her.

Kyran: See this? My mother has found someone for me. If you do not come back, your place as my wife will not be yours much longer. And after ten years of marriage... I want a child too.

He tossed the phone aside and leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes.

Bang! A loud crash echoed from the bedroom upstairs.

Kyran frowned and stood up quickly, walking toward the sound. There, instead of staying in the guest room downstairs, Adela was in the master bedroom, wrapped only in a towel. On the floor at her feet lay their broken wedding portrait.

She held the towel tight, looking nervous, and tried to explain. "I am so sorry, Mr. Valtor. I did not mean to. I was looking for you and walked into the wrong room. The frame just fell... I did not touch it..." She bit her lip. "Is it... important to you? I can have it fixed."

Kyran watched her and suddenly realized she was nothing like Elestria. Not even close.

He remembered how it had been in the beginning, he had been the one who had pursued Elestria. She had been the youngest Best Actress of her time, admired by everyone, with people drawn to her wherever she went. But no one had ever won her heart.

He remembered the day he told her he loved her, a bright summer afternoon. Her light blue skirt shimmered in the sun.

She had looked him straight in the eye and said, "Kyran, do you truly want to be with me? Think carefully. Once we are together, you must never look at anyone else. You must be faithful to me for all your life, because I will never share my life with a man who is untrue. If you ever betray me, if you ever cheat on me, I will disappear from your life forever."