The Second Vow

Prologue: The Final Breath The scent of antiseptic filled the hospital room, but all Catherine could smell was betrayal. The sharp, sterile air clung to her skin, but it couldn’t cleanse the rot that had seeped into her soul over the years. She lay there—frail, sunken eyes fixed on the dim light flickering on the ceiling. The once-proud woman was reduced to bones and memories. Machines beeped in rhythm, announcing the slow march toward her end. Her trembling hand reached for the photo on the bedside table. Her son’s smile beamed at her from the frame. Her fingers brushed the glass. Her heart clenched. She had loved him more than anything in the world. And now… Footsteps echoed in the quiet. Soft, measured. Too calm. Then came the voice. Smooth as silk, sharp as a dagger. “Well, well. Still clinging to that lie, aren’t you?” Michelle stepped into the dim light, arms crossed, face twisted with cold amusement. “It’s pathetic.” Catherine blinked, confusion etching itself into her features. Her voice came out hoarse. “Michelle?” Michelle’s lips curled into a sneer. “You should’ve never married Ronan.” Catherine’s breath caught. “What…?” Michelle stepped closer, her heels clicking like a countdown to the end. “You should’ve died during childbirth.” Her voice dropped to a venomous whisper. “Would’ve saved us all the trouble.” Catherine stared at her, a dawning horror creeping into her bones. The words hit like a slap. Catherine’s body froze. Her breath stilled. A cold sweat prickled across her skin. “What are you talking about?” she whispered, heart thudding like a war drum. Michelle’s smirk didn’t waver. “Closure. I thought you deserved the truth. You see that picture?”Michelle’s gaze flicked to the photo in Catherine’s trembling hand—the one she always kept close. The one with Leo’s smiling face. “That picture?” Michelle nodded toward it. “That boy isn’t yours.” The room went silent except for the sharp, rising beep-beep-beep of the heart monitor. Catherine stared at her, lips parting but no sound escaping. “You’re lying,” she said at last, the words trembling in the air. “You’re just trying to hurt me.” Michelle let out a low, mocking laugh. “Oh, sweet, naïve Catherine. You were always so good at pretending not to know. So good at playing the perfect little wife while I had your husband—and your child.” Catherine’s lips trembled. “That’s not true. I gave birth to him. I held him…” “You held my son,” Michelle snapped, venom lacing every word. “Mine and Ronan’s. I swapped them at the hospital the day he was born. Your daughter…” She leaned in, savoring the devastation. “I told the nurse she died. But the truth is… I was supposed to kill her.” “No…” Catherine shook her head weakly, tears streaming freely. “Please… no.” Michelle’s eyes glinted with ice. “I told them to feed her to the dogs. But some bleeding-heart nurse gave her away instead. Pity.” Catherine’s sob was raw and uncontained. “You… you took my daughter from me?” Michelle bent closer, her voice a whisper of poison. “You never even noticed, Catherine. You never questioned why your son never looked like you. Or why Ronan stopped coming home at night. You were too busy playing house, too desperate to believe he still loved you.” Catherine’s body shook, her fingers clenching the bedsheet. “I gave up everything…” she rasped. “My dreams… my family… my identity. I gave it all for him.” Michelle scoffed. “And he gave you nothing. He never loved you. He pitied you. You were his convenience—his safe bet. While I…” Her voice softened into something bitter. “I was everything he wanted but was too much of a coward to choose.” The monitor slowed, but the room buzzed with the weight of unspoken agony. Catherine turned her head slightly, voice barely a whisper. “Why, Michelle? Why do you hate me so much?” For a brief second, Michelle's mask cracked. Her voice lost its sharpness. “Because it was supposed to be me.” Her hands curled into fists. “We were together before you. I was with him first. But then you came along—all goodness and grace and doe-eyed smiles—and suddenly, I was the mistake. The secret. The one he pushed into the shadows.” She laughed, hollow and bitter. “Do you know how it feels to be told you're too much? That you're not wife material? That you're a thrill, not a future? He gave you everything because he knew you’d never fight him. And I watched it all. I watched you live the life I was promised.” Catherine blinked, the pain dulling beneath the ache of clarity. “I didn’t steal him.” “You didn’t have to.” Michelle’s voice cracked, just once. “You were chosen. I was discarded. And I couldn't live with that. So I decided—if I couldn’t have him the way I wanted, then you wouldn’t either. Not whole. Not happy.” Catherine swallowed hard. “So you destroyed everything?” “No,” Michelle hissed. “I took back what should’ve been mine.” Silence thickened between them. Then Catherine, chest rising with one final effort, whispered: “You hurt a child. An innocent baby. You ruined my life over a man who never truly loved either of us.” Catherine’s tears fell freely, but behind them—something hardened. “You’re a monster,” she whispered. Michelle blinked. The words stung more than expected. “No,” Michelle hissed, “I’m the woman he truly wanted. You were the façade. I gave Ronan passion—danger—life. You were just… easy.” Catherine’s breath was shallow, but her gaze was sharp. “He didn’t choose you.” Michelle flinched. “He used you, Michelle. You were the affair. The secret shame. I was his mistake, yes—but you were his shadow.” Silence thundered between them. Michelle’s face twisted, rage and grief warring behind her eyes. “No. He loved me. He just didn’t have the courage to fight for it.” Catherine’s voice turned steely, defiant even as death tugged at her. “Then he was never worth it.” Michelle stepped back, jaw clenched. Michelle’s eyes glistened—rage or regret, even she didn’t know. “I wanted to break you. To show him you were never enough. I thought if I destroyed you, he’d finally see me. He’d need me.” Catherine closed her eyes briefly, gathering strength for one final push. When she opened them again, the fire in them burned brighter than Michelle had ever seen. “Then you failed.” Michelle reeled. “What—?” “You failed,” Catherine repeated, her voice shaking but sure. “Because I loved Leo. I raised him. I kissed his scraped knees and held him through nightmares. I gave him a mother, even if I didn’t give him blood.” Catherine turned her eyes to the photo once more. “I raised him… I loved him. Even if he wasn’t mine. And I still would’ve chosen love over hatred. Every time.” Michelle's lips trembled—but she said nothing. “In the next life, I will not waste it on you… or on Ronan. I will find my daughter. And I will live for me.”  And in the stillness of that cold hospital room, Michelle stood alone. Michelle backed away, rattled, breath shallow. And as the silence settled over the room, she realized something terrifying: Catherine is on death's door—but she hadn’t lost. She had vowed to return. And somewhere—someday—she would.