He Broke His Vow, I Vanished Forever

Chapter 7

"If you ever betray me, if you are untrue, I will vanish from your world forever!" Elistria's voice rang in his head, and Kyran snapped back to the present, his eyes locking onto Adela standing before him. She was nothing but a cheap imitation. How could he have mistaken her for a younger Elestria only moments ago?

"Get out!" The words came out sharp and cold, like shards of ice.

Adela flinched, her eyes turning red instantly. She turned and hurried out of the room, her steps quick and unsteady.

Only then did Kyran look down at the broken wedding photograph on the floor. In the picture, Elestria stood at twenty years old, smiling back at him, bright and beautiful in her white wedding gown.

His mind drifted back to their wedding day. It had taken place in Seattle, a simple, quiet ceremony with no extra show.

He had made her a promise then. "Elestria, one day I will give you a grand, beautiful wedding. I will make you the happiest woman in the world."

Elestria had smiled brightly and answered, "Very well. It is a promise."

Later, when his business grew and became very successful, he never forgot that promise. He gave her the grand wedding he had promised. Expensive gifts and fine things came to Elestria, one after another, without end. But it seemed she was never truly happy.

Kyran did not stop to pick up the broken photograph. Instead, he walked out of the bedroom. At the end of the hallway stood the nursery. Strangely, the door, which had always been kept locked, now stood slightly open.

Ten years ago, Kyran had been working hard to build his place in the business world. Still young and new to it all, he had been cornered by a group of powerful men at a hotel. Back then, the whole world admired Elestria, and without a moment of hesitation, she had glass after glass of strong drink, a harsh mix of whiskey and other spirits, drinking on his behalf.

She was rushed to the hospital that night, bleeding internally from her stomach.

Only then did he learn that she had been two months pregnant. They had lost the baby.

That first loss had weakened her body greatly. The doctor told them it would be very difficult, almost impossible, for her to have another child. It was the first time Kyran had ever seen Elestria so completely broken.

She had whispered, "Kyran... our baby is gone. We may never have children now."

Kyran still remembered holding her close, speaking softly to her. "It is alright. Even without a child, we would be fine. We will grow old together, just the two of us. No one to come between us..."

To spare Elestria the pain, Kyran had locked the nursery door tight, and they had silently agreed never to open it again.

So why is it open now? Kyran walked straight inside and turned on the light. Inside the nursery, there was a small slide, a little rocking horse, a cradle, a tiny wardrobe… every single thing inside had been chosen together by Elestria and him.

Seeing it all brought back a sudden, sharp memory, of the message he had sent her not long ago.

After ten years of marriage, I want a child too.

He grabbed his phone, wishing more than anything he could take those words back.

But a message sent can never be taken back. Just like the thirteen years they had spent together, the past can never be changed.

Kyran had watched Elestria grow from a young girl into his wife, and then slowly fade into a woman who carried sadness and bitterness in her heart.

And he had done the one thing she could never forgive, he had been unfaithful.

Click. He turned the light off, and the nursery fell dark once more. Kyran pulled the door shut and locked it again, then walked slowly back to the bedroom and fell onto the bed, completely worn out.

He drifted into a deep, heavy sleep.

That night, the nightmares returned. In his dream, two figures stood before him. One was the bright, smiling Elestria of twenty, and the other was the woman she had become. But both looked at him with the same heartbroken disappointment. When their forms faded away, Kyran woke up suddenly, gasping.

He reached for his phone beside him, unlocked it, and looked at the screen.

Messages from work, questions from his mother, and sweet, playful messages from Zyrelle, but still, not a single word from Elestria.

He opened their private chat and looked at her picture. Ever since they had fallen in love, her picture had shown both of them together. It had stayed the same for ten years.

Now it showed only her, standing alone, her back turned to him. He looked through her posts... all empty.

Only one line remained, written where her description used to be: I never doubted true love. But true love can change in an instant.

Kyran remembered when those words had once been.

Love can last through all the long years.