Shattered Vow
img img Shattered Vow img Chapter 2 The Aftermath
2
Chapter 6 The Healing Process Begins img
Chapter 7 First Steps Toward Healing img
Chapter 8 Opening Old Wound img
Chapter 9 Learning to Breathe Again img
Chapter 10 A Step Forward img
Chapter 11 Letting Go img
Chapter 12 A New Beginning img
Chapter 13 Echoes of the Past img
Chapter 14 The Knock That Changed Everything img
Chapter 15 Tiny Revolutions img
Chapter 16 Words We Don't Say img
Chapter 17 Ghosts in the cafe img
Chapter 18 The Shock img
Chapter 19 Truth Unfold img
Chapter 20 Someone From The Past img
Chapter 21 The Morning of Hope img
Chapter 22 Taking Steady Steps img
Chapter 23 The Retreat img
Chapter 24 Echoes and Opening img
Chapter 25 A Change img
Chapter 26 The Homecoming img
Chapter 27 The Step Forward img
Chapter 28 The Speech img
Chapter 29 The Choice img
Chapter 30 Fallen in Place img
Chapter 31 The Conversation She Didn't Expect img
Chapter 32 Small Steps, Big Shifts img
Chapter 33 The Reflection Moment img
Chapter 34 The Curveball img
Chapter 35 I Love You img
Chapter 36 The Stage img
Chapter 37 The Space Between img
Chapter 38 The Column img
Chapter 39 The Rewritten Vow img
Chapter 40 Steady Ground img
Chapter 41 The Room She Walked Into img
Chapter 42 Quiet After the Roar img
Chapter 43 The Becoming img
Chapter 44 The Space Between img
Chapter 45 The Trail Ahead img
Chapter 46 The Cabin img
Chapter 47 No More Permission img
Chapter 48 The Best Yes img
Chapter 49 The Book img
Chapter 50 From Pain to Freedom img
Chapter 51 The Contract img
Chapter 52 Writing a Way Home img
Chapter 53 The Story Behind the Column img
Chapter 54 The What If Stage img
Chapter 55 The Big News img
Chapter 56 This is Only the Beginning img
Chapter 57 The Strange Slience img
Chapter 58 Buried a Ghost in a Dress img
Chapter 59 Story of Becoming img
Chapter 60 The Woman on The Other Side img
Chapter 61 A Ghost From The Past img
Chapter 62 The Rewrite img
Chapter 63 Becoming Whole img
Chapter 64 Publishing Timeline img
Chapter 65 Falling in Place img
Chapter 66 Healing isn't a Finish Line img
Chapter 67 What I Would Say Now img
Chapter 68 The Draft img
Chapter 69 When The Silence Spoke Back img
Chapter 70 A Story For Everyone img
Chapter 71 No Longer Lost img
Chapter 72 The Blooming Chapter img
Chapter 73 The letter img
Chapter 74 Dear Me img
Chapter 75 The Regret img
Chapter 76 The Manuscript img
Chapter 77 Becoming Whole: A Journey of Saying Yes to Myself. img
Chapter 78 The Publishing Meeting img
Chapter 79 Reconnected img
Chapter 80 Expanded Draft img
Chapter 81 Finding Myself After The Fall img
Chapter 82 Out There img
Chapter 83 Celebration img
Chapter 84 Her Becoming img
Chapter 85 Some Things Deserve to Be Said Twice img
Chapter 86 It's Time img
Chapter 87 The Acknowledgement img
Chapter 88 In The Shelf img
Chapter 89 Echoes and Intentions img
Chapter 90 Coffee with Thelma img
Chapter 91 The Room with the Window View img
Chapter 92 The Morning After Trust img
Chapter 93 The Telling img
Chapter 94 The Day the Sky Didn't Fall img
Chapter 95 The Pause Before img
Chapter 96 Echoes in the Quiet img
Chapter 97 Honey Lemon and Honest Things img
Chapter 98 The Question That Lingered img
Chapter 99 The Quiet Yes img
Chapter 100 The Morning After img
img
  /  2
img

Chapter 2 The Aftermath

The wedding dress was still on the floor.

A crumpled mess of lace and tulle, discarded in the corner of her bedroom like a forgotten relic of another life. Kimberly stared at it from her bed, where she had been lying for hours, feeling numb. The once-pristine fabric was now wrinkled, the delicate beading catching the dim light of the bedside lamp.

Three days gone already.

It had been three days since Mason abandoned her. Since her world cracked open and swallowed her whole. Since she had walked into her apartment, still in her gown, and collapsed onto the floor, too numb to cry.

She had barely moved since.

A knock at the door broke the silence.

"Kim?" Samantha's voice was muffled but insistent. "Open the door, please open up."

Kimberly turned her head slightly, staring blankly at the door but making no move to get up.

A sigh. Then the jingle of keys. Of course, Samantha had a spare.

The door opened, and in walked her best friend, carrying a plastic bag of takeout. The rich aroma of food filled the air, but it only made Kimberly feel nauseous.

Samantha stopped in her tracks when she saw her. "Oh, honey... you don't have to suffer like this anymore"

Kimberly must have looked awful. She hadn't showered. Her long brown hair was a tangled mess. Her eyes were puffy, rimmed with exhaustion and tears.

Samantha set the food on the nightstand and sat at the edge of the bed. "I brought Thai food. Your favorite, still hot."

"I'm not hungry," Kimberly murmured, her voice hoarse from disuse.

"Yeah, I figured," Samantha said, crossing her arms. "Which is why I'm going to force-feed you if I have to."

Kimberly let out a weak laugh. Samantha always knew how to push, but right now, Kimberly didn't have the energy to fight.

Samantha softened. "Babe, you can't just stay in bed forever."

"Why not?" Kimberly whispered, staring at the ceiling. "It's not like I have anywhere to be."

Samantha frowned. "You have a life, Kim. A job. Friends who love you. You can't let him take all of that away from you, too."

"He already did." Kim whispered as tears drop down her eyes.

A heavy silence settled between them.

Samantha reached out and squeezed Kimberly's hand. "Mason is an idiot. A coward. And he doesn't deserve your tears, you are too perfect for him, and he is so imperfect for you"

Kimberly swallowed, her throat aching. "Then why does it still hurt?"

"That's because you truly loved him." Samantha's voice was gentle but firm. "And because he was supposed to love you back, but too bad he didn't."

Tears spilled down Kimberly's cheeks, silent at first, then harder, sobs wracking her body. Samantha pulled her into a hug, rubbing soothing circles on her back as she cried.

It wasn't fair.

The man she had trusted, the man she had built a future with, had walked away without a second thought. She had given him everything her heart, her time, her love and he had discarded her like she meant nothing to him.

Samantha held her as she wept, whispering soft reassurances.

When the worst of it passed, Kimberly pulled away, wiping at her swollen eyes. "I feel pathetic."

"You're not pathetic," Samantha said firmly. "You're heartbroken. There's a difference."

Kimberly exhaled shakily. "I don't even know what to do anymore. I wake up, and for a second, I forget. And then it hits me all over again."

Samantha's expression softened. "One day at a time, Kim. That's all you have to do right now. Just... get through today. And then tomorrow. And the next, soon you will be fine."

Kimberly swallowed. "And what if I never stop feeling like this?"

"You will," Samantha promised. "I don't know when, but you will, am so sure about it."

They sat in silence for a while.

Then Samantha nudged the takeout bag toward her. "Now eat. Or I swear to God, I will spoon-feed you like a toddler."

Kimberly let out a weak, tired chuckle and reached for the food. It wasn't much, but it was something.

And for now, that had to be enough.

            
            

COPYRIGHT(©) 2022