Trapped in the Don's Vow novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Julian and Summer stood frozen in place.

Julian’s outstretched hand hung in midair before falling limply to his side.

Ethan didn’t look back and turned away with me.

We kept walking, farther and farther, until their figures disappeared completely into the night, and I finally

bury my face in Ethan’s coat and sobbed uncontrollably.

The tears wouldn’t stop.

Ethan fumbled as he tried to wipe them away, but the more he wiped, the more there were.

In the end, he gave up and simply patted my back gently, his voice hoarse.

“Cry. Let out all five years of pain.”

“When you’re done, I won’t let anyone hurt you like that again.”

The celebration for Julian and Summer’s child ended as a farce, with the groom abandoning his wife and

baby to chase his ex-wife.

It became the talk of their social circle.

“I heard the ex-wife nearly got Julian killed, and she still had the nerve to show up?”

“Who knows. Maybe there really was something fishy about that fire.”

“Julian, too. Summer gave him a son, and it still wasn’t enough for him.”

I scrolled through the comments on my phone, feeling strangely calm.

That afternoon, Julian came again.

He wore the same suit as yesterday, wrinkled and unkempt, dark circles under his eyes and stubble on his

chin.

He looked nothing like himself.

“Nina…”

He stood at the ward door, his voice rough.

“I’ve made things clear with Summer. The child stays with her. I’ll pay support.”

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“We’re… getting divorced.”

I put down my book and looked at him quietly.

“And then?”

He walked toward me step by step, suddenly dropping to one knee and pulling a box from his pocket.

Inside was the ring he had used to propose to me five years ago.

“Nina, I thought about you every single day these past five years. I was wrong. I really was wrong.”

“I never should’ve left you like that.”

“I panicked. I didn’t know what to do… Summer said she was pregnant and threatened to die. My parents

pressured me too, said the baby needed a father.”

“But you were the only one in my heart. Now I finally understand. I want to come back to you.”

He raised the ring, his eyes frantic and pleading.

“Nina, give me one more chance. Marry me again, okay?”

I shook my head.

“You don’t need to pity me. I’m sick, but I don’t need you saving me.”

Julian’s pupils shrank, his lips trembling.

“You… you’re really sick?”

I smiled.

See? Even now, he still thought I was acting.

“PTSD and severe depression, with a history of self-harm.”

“Long-term treatment required. Possibly never fully cured.”

“Julian, I never lied to you. Not before, and not now.”

His face went deathly pale as he collapsed onto the floor, all strength drained from him.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Nina…”

He grabbed my hand, tears falling heavily.

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“But I mean it! I love you. I never forgot you for even one day in these five years!”

“Let me take care of you. Let me make it up to you. Please.”

I pulled my hand back and calmly extended my left hand, showing him the simple silver ring on my ring

finger.

“Julian, I’m already engaged. To Ethan.”

Last night, after Ethan walked me back to my room, he didn’t leave right away.

He sat by my bed in silence for a long time before taking out this ring.

“Nina, I know this isn’t the right time. You might think I’m taking advantage of you.”

“But I have to say it. I like you, not as a doctor liking a patient, but as a man liking a woman.”

“I want to marry you. I want to walk the rest of life with you.”

“No matter if your illness ever gets better, no matter how long it takes, I’ll stay.”

“You don’t have to agree. You can reject me.”

“But could you… at least give me a chance to wait?”

I looked at his fingers, pale from tension, and the unease hidden deep in his eyes.

I thought of everything over the past six months.

He had stayed with me through countless breakdowns, held me tight when I lost control so I wouldn’t hurt myself, and celebrated every bit of progress more than I did.

When exposure therapy left me in pain and vomiting, he would repeat over and over, “Nina, you’re brave.

You’re doing so well.”

I held out my left hand. “Okay.”

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