Lahat ng Kabanata ng Broken Vows, Rising Flames : Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 110

Clara's POVI sat rigid by Leo's bedside, his hands in mine but not gripping mine. The room felt suffocating due to the silence. The only sound in the room was the beeping of the monitor and our breaths combined. I just stared at both of our hands because looking at Leo whose gaze was fixed on the ceiling felt really hard. Leo had been mostly quiet and I wouldn't even blame him for that.The feeling of uncertainty between us only made everything worse.“I'm here Leo.” I said, tightening the grip on his hand.“I know that.” He answered without looking away from the ceiling.The door suddenly swung open, startling me and Leo. Aunt walked in briskly with her heels clicking on the tiles noisily. Behind her was a woman I didn't recognize.The woman was dressed in a highly fashioned outfit. She looked like she was to attend an event not looking out of place in a hospital room.“This is Miss Patricia Vance.” Aunt Evelyn introduced, with a little bit of excitement in her voice. “She's the w

Clara's POV.Damon stood up in annoyance pacing Doctor Sidney's office. Then he stopped and stood just by the window and crossed his arms, clenching and unclenching his jaw. Looking out of it with frustration written all over his features.I remained completely composed and unbothered.“Clara, think about what you’re saying. We’re going to hand our baby—Maurice’s sibling—over to a total stranger. Someone we don’t know. Someone who could drink or smoke.”He paused suddenly and ran his fingers through his hair.“God forbid. She could even fall down the stairs.”My brows furrowed.“Isn’t that a wild thing to think, right now?”“You can’t control what another person does with their body.”He snapped, his voice carrying so much certainty like he had seen the future already. A humorless chuckle left my lips. “That's why they are paid Damon. It's a contract with legal documents to be signed between both parties. Medical screenings are also done. It's surrogacy, it's not some back alley arr

Clara's POV I knew it was wrong to listen in on her but my curiosity got the best of me and my feet wouldn't move. “No, everything is fine. The procedure was fine. Stop calling me already, I will handle everything.” That sounded really personal. The person she was talking to had to be someone close to her for her to be able to tell the person about her surrogate situation. I leaned further on my right leg which was in front of the left to strike a balance on my weight. My shoes scraped against the floor and the sound of it was not subtle. Lydia's head snapped to the door. “Who's there?” she called. I couldn’t afford to be caught in such an embarrassing position, so I did the only thing that came to my mind. I exhaled softly and pushed the door open. Lydia's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened in surprise. “Ma’am….Clara?… h– how long have you been standing there?” She stammered, her face red from being caught off guard. “I'm sorry Lydia I didn't mean to scare

Clara's POVFor a trip that would take forty-five minutes, it was surprising how I got to the hospital in twenty. I pulled over in the parking lot and opened the car in a hurry. The moment I stepped out of the car, the humid air hit me, like a wall of heat. Ignoring it, I rushed into the clinic, breathless and already apologizing in my head for being late.“Hi, good afternoon.” I greeted the nurse at the reception desk. .She looked up at me, her expression cautious but polite “Hello, good afternoon, ma'am. How may I help you?” “I’m here for a Mr. Leonard. He has an appointment this afternoon.”“Okay, a moment please.” She said, turning to the monitor by her side. A few seconds later, she looked back at me “Is it Mr Leonard Grayson?” She asked“Yes.”She hesitated.“I’m sorry ma'am, he just left thirty minutes ago.”My stomach dropped .Slowly I lifted my gaze to a large clock mounted on the wall behind her.I was already two hours late.“Shit,”I muttered under my breath.I close

Damon's POV It was two thirty in the morning. The hallway of the pediatric ward had never felt more suffocating to me.The fluorescent light was harsh in a way that I couldn't tell if it had always been this glaring or it was the knot of fear inside me that made it seem worse.A nurse hurried past me. Clutching a clipboard to her chest. She didn't spare me a glance, too focused on wherever she was headed.I had lost count of the number of times I paced the corridor waiting for the door to Maurice's room to open.As I turned, I caught my reflection in the small glass panel of a nearby patient’s door.I was still in the same shirt from the previous day. It was all rumpled up. My hair was a mess from repeatedly dragging my fingers through it and from the countless times I pulled at it in frustration.Dark circles lined my already bloodshot eyes due to lack of sleep.But still I couldn't for more than a few seconds before I resumed pacing the corridors again.Maurice's room door opened a