UNCLAIMED VOWS

Chapter 01 : Shattered Morning

( Amelie’s POV )

Morning light spills softly across my sheets, warm against my skin, coaxing me awake. For a moment, I let myself breathe in the quiet. No alarms. No deadlines. No frantic rush to prove I belong in the world I’ve worked so hard to reach. Just… stillness. At twenty-eight, with a Harvard degree in Marketing Management and a reputation for being relentlessly hardworking, I should feel triumphant. But this morning, I just feel… lighter. Almost hopeful, like something good might finally be waiting for me.

I rise from bed, stretching my arms overhead as I catch my reflection in the mirror.

Another day, Amelie. Own it.

My routine is the only thing that keeps me steady, a quick shower, my sleek blouse and pencil skirt, my lucky heels. Black coffee, one slice of toast. Nothing fancy, just enough fuel to carry me through another day in Velmore City, a place beautiful in its chaos, where the smell of roasted coffee blends with the impatient honking of cars and the laughter of early-morning vendors. Riding the bus feels strangely comforting today. Maybe because, for once, I’m not bracing myself for disaster.

Or maybe… I’m simply tired of expecting it.

Vérité & Co. rises before me like a palace of glass, my battlefield and my pride. Working as the assistant to the Creative Director of a prestigious high-end fashion brand sounds glamorous, and sometimes it is, but it’s also brutal. I’ve earned my place there through grit, talent, and the kind of work ethic that leaves no room for weakness. My boss adores me. My colleagues… not so much. Some envy, some despise, and lately, some have crossed lines they shouldn’t have. Their jealousy twisted into blackmail, ugly, cruel, and threatening everything I’ve fought for.

I can’t lose my job. Not when my half younger brother Sam still needs tuition for college. Not when Mom’s medical bills keep rising. Our small noodle house back in Santa Catalina barely covers the basics. Everything else… falls on me.

By noon, I’ve called Alex three times. By afternoon, five. No response. No text. No explanation. My gut twists in uncomfortable knots. He’s busy, sure, but this silence feels wrong..unnerving.

He wouldn’t ignore me… would he?

By five o’clock, panic gives way to something sharper. Decision.

If he won’t answer, I’ll go to him.

I buy his favorite roast chicken and a couple of cold beers on the way, my palms cold as I ride the elevator in his building. The moment the doors open, I freeze.

A pair of red high heels sits by his door.

My heart falters.

No. No, I’m imagining things. It’s nothing. It has to be nothing.

I enter the code, step inside, set the food on the counter. The apartment is dim, unusually so. The bedroom door is half open.

And then I see them.

Alex. Naked.

A woman. Also naked.

Their bodies tangled in a way that feels like a blade driven straight into my chest.

For a moment, I can’t breathe. The world loses all sound, all color, leaving only a raw, stabbing ache spreading through me like fire.

“Alex…” My voice is barely a breath. “What… what is this?”

He jerks upright, shock flooding his features. “Amelie…”

“No.” My words break, sharp and trembling. “Don’t speak. Don’t you dare.”