Beneath the Broken Vows

ndrew?" Cecilia's voice trembled with frustration, her

h his arms crossed, his expression unmoved. Those deep, golden-brown eyes sh

," he replied, his voice smooth and calm,

marriage was little more than a shadow, an arrangement that had drained her heart dry over the past two years. She had

trapped in a marriage that felt like a cage, and yet, inexplicably, she

eding into her tone, "is there truly nothin

e flashing across his face. "I gave you my ans

sted painfull

. She attempted to suppress it from her thoughts, convincing herself it was merely a dream. However, Andrew brushed off

there, trying to maintain composur

---

the clean hospital room, her thoughts were consumed by her diagnosis. Her illness was progressing, and with every appointment, there

her heart stops. Since birth, they all develop a specific scent that strengthens when they mate as a way to locate each other.

cock her head to get a better scent. Y

all at once. Cecilia's heart drops into her stomach. She feels

n, she

ther woman. She quickly brings her hand to her mouth, st

railing over her skin in a way that spoke of an intimacy Cecilia had never known with him. They stood close, his face softened as he

them together. She knew of Vivian, knew that she and Andrew had a past, but

deeply in love that everything else is simply an outward display around them. Cecilia dodged behind a plant and casuall

nto her mouth. The rest of the nurses murmur in agreement and Cecilia waits to smell

e bitterness clawing at her throat. She had long since given up on the fantasy of a loving marriage, but seeing

o keep herself from breaking down. She hoped he wouldn't find out she had see

----

creaked open, and Andrew walked in. Cecilia washed him as he scanned the room realizing the romantic gesture tha

ce was low, laced with barely restrained frustration as Andrew walked through

ning his usual composed posture, his golden-brown eyes fixed on her. The faint glimmer of warmth in his gaze caught her off guard;

s waiting for you." She felt vulnerable admitting it, but there was no point in pretending other

o his. He presses his warm lips against the curve of her neck. And rather than melt into

The unexpected tenderness made her heart race, a confusing thrill sparking within her. He lea

sensations that were both familiar and longed for. His touch grew bolder as he gently drew her i

g time. Her heart yearned to believe, just for a moment, that this was real and he truly wanted her. She could feel hersel

an's hand at the hospital, the warmth in his eyes as he looked at another woman the way he had never looked at her. Her hea

, breaking free from his hold, her bre

his expression hardeni

s not in the mood to fight. Before she can think of an excuse to say something, his phone buzzes, and his

lia's stomac

een holding back finally surfaced. "Don't pretend this is real, Andrew. I saw y

raining from his face as a cold, unr

tting deeper than any words he could have said. "And... why?

t vanished as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by an impenetrable wall of cold detachmen

t a di