Page 6 of Crushed Vow (Broken Vows #2)

My legs felt weak.

“I never hurt her, Charlotte. Not once,” he added, turning to face me fully now. Blood, dried and smeared, marked a line down his temple. “I wanted to kill her for what she did to me and my mother, but I didn’t. For you.”

He exhaled heavily, as if confessing cost him more than he expected.

“The doctors said if there was even the slightest chance she’d improve, it would take time.

I planned to let you see her the moment she recognized anything.

But you were gone by then. And she never got better.

She never remembered. She never stopped screaming. And a few weeks ago... she died.”

I couldn’t respond. The burning hatred I had nursed for him, for keeping her from me, began to crumble. Not from forgiveness. But from sorrow.

It felt like someone poured water over the fire inside me—extinguishing it, not with peace, but grief.

A black SUV pulled up beside us.

Cassian opened the back door. I slid in numbly, barely registering the massive figure behind the wheel. The driver’s voice was as big as his body—gravelly, commanding.

“Boss,” he said.

Cassian didn’t look up. “Speak.”

“The boy’s been taken.”

The blood drained from my face. “The boy?” I repeated, my voice hollow. “Vincent?”

Cassian turned to me slowly, meeting my eyes. “They hit us so we wouldn’t make it on time.”

I couldn’t breathe. “I lost my mother,” I choked. “And now—now my brother?”

“I’ll get him back,” he said, voice steel. “I’ll make them an offer they won’t refuse. I’ll bring him home.”

But I didn’t hear anything after that. I sank into myself, pressing my forehead into my hands, trying to breathe past the despair clawing at my throat.

Why does everything bad always happen to me?

The car eventually slowed, then stopped. I barely felt it. Grief had hollowed me out.

“Charlotte,” Cassian said softly, almost cautiously.

I lifted my head. My eyes stung, bloodshot from tears. The world around me blurred.

Cassian stepped out, walked around the car, and opened my door.

He extended his hand.

I stared at it—but didn’t take it.

It wasn’t until I stood beside him that I realized where we were.

His gated estate.

The penthouse that once served as my prison.

And just like that, the weight of it all came crashing down on me. I remembered the echo of my loneliness, and the way the walls had watched me unravel every single night.

“No,” I breathed, stepping back. “I’m not going in there.”

I waved at the driver. “Take me back to Ethan.”

The car peeled away without hesitation, leaving me alone with Cassian.

“No, Cassian,” I said, my voice shaking. “You can’t force me. Not this time.”

“We’re still married,” he said calmly. “And it’s only right that we live together.”

“No.” I shook my head, backing away. “I made myself clear. I’m still healing from everything I went through in that psych ward. You—” I pointed at him. “You trigger me. The only person who’s helped me feel remotely safe is Ethan.”

“Ethan’s a child,” Cassian snapped. “He can’t protect you. Hell, he can barely protect himself.”

“He found me when you didn’t!” I fired back. “You had all your men, all your money, all your power, and still—he was the one who saved me!”

Cassian’s jaw clenched. “I thought you were taken out of the country. I thought whoever grabbed you would be smart enough to keep you far away. I never imagined you were being held right under my nose. I was looking everywhere else—Europe, Asia, South America. I spent millions. Bled for you. Died in pieces every goddamn day. I wasn’t watching New York. ”

His voice cracked.

“I was losing my mind,” he whispered, like there was more he wanted to confess—only he swallowed it back instead.

I froze. “What are you hiding from me, Cassian?”

Because I could feel it in my bones—he wasn’t telling me everything. And part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

He looked away. “Nothing that should matter to you right now. Just... live with me. Until I find your brother.”

I stared at him, my body trembling with exhaustion. “You used my mother to get me to stay once. Now you’re using Vincent.”

“I told you the truth about your mother,” he said.

“And as for Vincent—this isn’t a puzzle Ethan can solve with computers and surveillance.

This is the Bratva. If he tries to interfere, they’ll kill him.

If you want to protect the person who saved you, keep him out of this.

Your problems are mine now, Charlotte. And I’ll carry every single one of them. As your husband, it’s my right.”

The worst part? He was right—and I hated it.

Ethan wasn’t part of this world. And involving him could get him killed.

“Fine,” I said, voice cracking. “I’ll stay. Until you find Vincent.”

Cassian hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”

But I didn’t believe him.

“And I want a divorce.”

He smiled faintly. “You’ll get one. Just not on paper.”

I stared at him, confused and wary.

“Just stay,” he murmured. “Let me make up for what I’ve done. Let me rewrite our story before I grant your wish.”

My divorce wish.

My throat tightened, and I looked away.

That should’ve brought relief. But something inside me clenched.

I should want this to be over. I should want to walk away for good. And yet... I couldn’t ignore the ache growing in my chest at the thought of losing him again.

But I could ignore it. I had to.

If I survived without him for a year, I could survive forever.

I turned and walked toward the house.

Cassian followed.