All Chapters of In the name of vows: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

Chapter tenMarkI woke up earlier than usual again.Not because of work.Not because of jet lag.Because Katy has been in my head since yesterday.The day we spent together felt way really normal. Too normal. Like we’d been doing it for years instead of barely figuring out what we are.But with Katy, normal is a dangerous territory.Normal makes her nervous.Normal makes her look for exits.I know the pattern now.Yesterday she laughed. She opened up. She walked beside me without constantly checking the distance between us.And then at dinner she told me I should probably go home.Classic retreat.I don’t blame her.Fear has been steering her life for a long time.The question is whether she’ll let something or someone else take the wheel.By the time evening comes around, we’re meeting again.Katy suggested dinner.Which, coming from someone who was trying to escape me a week ago, feels like progress.The restaurant she picks sits on a quiet street lit by warm yellow lamps. Music d

Chapter 12 MarkI realize something on the eight day.Katy is trying.It’s subtle. The kind of change most people would miss. But once you notice it, you can’t unsee it.She isn’t checking flight times every hour anymore. She is not planning on how to run but she’s including me in her plans.She isn’t constantly talking about the next city she wants to escape to.And when she walks beside me through the narrow streets of this place, she isn’t half turned toward the direction she might run.She’s present.That alone feels like a victory.We meet late in the afternoon that day.She sends a message first.Katy:There’s a street market near the harbor today.A minute later another message arrives.You should come.I smile at the screen before typing back.Me:Bossy.Her reply comes immediately.Efficient.The market is crowded by the time I arrive.Rows of stalls stretch down the street, selling everything from handmade jewelry to fresh fruit and strange local desserts that look far too

Chapter 14 MarkThe moment I land, reality returns. It’s back to work mode.The quiet rhythm of the last few days disappears the second my phone reconnects to the network.Messages flood the screen.Emails.Missed calls.Notifications from the company chat.Adrian.Of course.I rub the back of my neck as I walk through the airport terminal, already opening the first email. The crisis we’ve been dealing with clearly didn’t solve itself while I was gone.Part of me expected that.Another part hoped the world might stay paused for a little longer and I could remain with her.But life doesn’t work like that.And neither does business.By the time I reach the car waiting outside the airport, my mind is already halfway back in the office.Deadlines.Meetings. Board members. Everyday annoying talk.Yet despite all of that, my phone stays in my hand longer than necessary.Because there’s one message I’m waiting for.Or maybe hoping for.It comes just as the driver pulls away from the curb.

Chapter 16MarkFor a few seconds after Katy’s question, I don’t answer.The line is quiet except for the faint sound of wind on her side of the call. Somewhere in the distance I can hear the traffic passing by my apartment window, but the noise feels far away.“What are we doing?”It’s a simple question.But it carries the weight of everything that has been building between us for months.I lean back in my chair and stare at the ceiling, thinking carefully about my answer.With Katy, honesty matters more than strategy.“I was wondering when you’d ask that,” I finally say.There’s a pause on the other end.“I almost didn’t,” she admits.“Why?”“Because questions like that usually lead to complicated answers.”A small smile pulls at my mouth.“She says after calling me across continents for weeks.”“That’s different.”“How?”She hesitates.“It just is.”I shake my head slightly. Even over the phone, her stubbornness is obvious.But beneath it, I can hear something else tonight.Nervous

Chapter 18KatyThe strange thing about time is that it rarely announces itself when it passes.There are no bells, no sudden realizations that mark the moment when something changes. Most of the time, life shifts quietly, so gradually that you don’t notice until you stop long enough to look back.That realization comes to me on a Tuesday morning while I’m standing in the kitchen of Mark’s apartment. Yes you heard that right.The smell of coffee fills the air as sunlight spills through the wide windows, warming the hardwood floors beneath my feet. Outside, the city is already alive with movement with cars passing in steady rhythms, people rushing toward work, the distant hum of everyday life unfolding. The usual busy New York routine.I lean against the kitchen counter, scrolling absently through my phone while the coffee machine finishes brewing.For a moment, everything feels normal. Like this is the way it has always been.Comfortable.Familiar.And that’s exactly when the thought