Trapped in the Don's Vow novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The rest of the message hadn’t been sent.

I gripped the phone, shivering all over.

At Zoe’s funeral, Summer was there too, crying so hard she nearly fainted.

“Zoe… how could you leave us like this…”

Julian’s parents patted her back, comforting her.

“Summer, take care of yourself. You’re still young. You have to move forward.”

In that moment, it felt like an invisible net had been cast over me, tightening with every struggle.

And every time I struggled, it only tightened further.

“Are you okay? Why are you being sick like this?”

Julian handed me a bottle of water, then tugged at the sleeve of his expensive suit, trying to wipe the mess

from the corner of my mouth.

His gesture was gentle, almost like a caring husband’s.

I found it deeply ironic.

He was a husband. Just not mine.

“Nina…”

Summer followed us out.

She had changed into light postpartum clothes.

Her hair was messy, tear tracks still on her face, the baby cradled in her arms.

“What happened back then… we wronged you. You can hate me however you want. Hit me, curse me, I’ll

accept it…”

Her voice broke, soft and trembling.

“Even… if you still want to be with Julian, I… I can step aside. I’ll raise the child myself.”

I opened my mouth, wanting to say that I had never thought that.

Five years had passed. I was too tired to hate.

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But Julian spoke first, his tone sharp.

“Summer! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“That’s all in the past. Nina’s doing well now. Don’t bring it up again. It’ll only hurt her more.”

Summer visibly relaxed. She wiped her tears and reached for my hand with concern.

“I’ve actually been worried about you these past five years. I was afraid you might do something drastic. I-”

She stopped short.

Her gaze froze on my wrist, where several pale scars crisscrossed, twisted and ugly.

Julian’s breathing grew heavy.

In silence, he pulled out a cigarette case, lit one, and took a deep drag.

Smoke curled between us. No one spoke.

I remembered that he hadn’t used to smoke.

Summer spoke softly.

“He smokes when he’s under a lot of pressure. He just didn’t want you to know. It’s… a habit we share.”

She looked at Julian, her eyes tender and intimate.

There were always so many shared habits between them, things I could never fit into.

We got back into the car. Since Summer and the baby were in the front, I ended up in the back seat.

“Sorry,” Julian said. “She just had a baby. She can’t be exposed. Bear with it.”

The window slid shut.

Ever since the fire, I’d developed severe claustrophobia.

Enclosed spaces made it hard to breathe.

The car moved in complete silence for a long time.

Finally, Julian spoke, trying to ease the tension.

“How are your parents? I haven’t visited them in ages.

“My mom died of a heart attack last year. My dad moved back to our hometown. He said the city felt

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suffocating.”

My voice was calm, as if I were talking about strangers.

The car braked sharply. I almost slammed into the seat in front of me.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Julian’s hand shaking.

Ash fell on his pants without him noticing.

My parents had opposed my relationship with Julian from the start, saying firefighting was too dangerous.

Julian had shown up at our place again and again, changing light bulbs, fixing pipes, playing chess with my dad, massaging my mom’s shoulders.

When my father finally relented, he’d said, “He really does care about you. Fine. As long as you’re happy.”

When my mother was dying, she’d held my hand and whispered, “Nina, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have forced you

back then… You’re on your own now. Take good care of yourself.”

Julian didn’t dare ask anything more.

Because he knew my mother’s illness wasn’t just physical.

It came from years of suppressed grief, of being unable to hold her head up in the neighborhood after her daughter was blamed for her husband’s death.

The air grew heavy.

Summer hurried to fill the silence, her voice trembling.

“So… where are you living now? We’ll take you home.”

“City Mental Health Center, Third Floor, Room 307.”

Summer gasped sharply. “You… you’re hospitalized? What happened?”

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