Page 68 of Shameless Vows

This wasn’t my girlfriend cheating on me.

This was the love of my life being raped by strangers after she’d been drugged to a state of unconsciousness.

The slew of text messages that accompanied it are suddenly and glaringly obvious that they were sent by someone else.

Full of typos, and lazy abbreviations, and shitty punctuation.

Islanevertexted like that.

Shenevercalled mebabe.

She didn’t even have her phone when I received them.

This was a set-up. Or a prank. Or a cruel joke. Or something I can’t even comprehend right now.

But what it’s clearlynotis what I believed it was for eleven years.

The justification for all manner of mistreatment during the brief time we’ve been married.

But most of all, it’s glaring evidence that I failed to do what I’d vowed my entire life to do, and then one of worst things imaginable happened to her.

I swear on my life that I’ll keep you safe forever.

My stomach twists again, and the bile surges up my throat, and I drop the phone back in my suitcase because I have to sprint to the toilet and vomit.

After retching and dry-heaving until I’m empty and my vision starts blacking out at my periphery, I stand up straight and attempt to pull myself together.

Returning to the living room, I see that Isla is still as stiff and stoic as she’s been the whole time, and I could fuckingcry. But I don’t, and I merely hand the phone to Officer Miller. I stand perpendicular to both sofas, cross my arms over my chest, and stare at the ornate rug beneath my polished Oxford shoes.

A distinctly indignant huff exits his mouth. “Well.” I glance at him in time to see him blink and scroll through the message thread. “That is pretty incriminating evidence.” He looks up at me. “And you never received any kind of response from her or any additional contact?”

I swallow thickly. “I attempted to call her as soon as I received those, but her phone was turned off. I um…” I cut a glance at Isla, who has raised her face slightly as her shoulders begin rising and falling under the weight of deep, silent breathing. “I called her for weeks, but never reached her.”

My response to all of it suddenly makes little sense, becausewhy didn’t I just fucking go?

Why didn’t I get on the first fucking plane to New York?

Why did I just let her go like that without even trying tospeak to her in person?

I can’t believe my own stupidity and naivete, and it’s abundantly clear that I have grievously wronged Isla so severely that I’ll never be able to atone for such sins. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.

“From the looks of it, it seems like it’s just a sick prank. Unfortunately, incidents like this at college campuses… ones in which sensitive photos and videos are circulated out of simple maliciousness… aren’t all that uncommon.” Officer Miller gestures at me with the phone. “I’d like to admit this as evidence and reopen the case. Digital forensics might be able to find these guys with a photo like this.”

I nod hastily. “Of c—”

“I want to see it,” Isla’s hollow voice cuts in. She’s looking at Officer Miller, not me, and holds out her hand to him. “Let me look at it.”

He hesitates before handing it to her. She holds the phone in her line of sight, scrolls, and presses her thumb to the screen, all the while remaining as stoic as she’s been this whole time. After several minutes of scrolling, she flippantly tosses the phone onto the coffee table, where it lands with a jarringthump, and she stands up.

Her posture is flawless as she clasps her hands at the level of her waist, chin lifted in a dignified manner. “Thank you for meeting with me, Officer Miller.”

He nods at her. “Of course. I’m sorry for the unpleasant nature of everything.”

Her throat pulses. “Please direct any further communication regarding this case to the Duke. I know everything I need to know.”

He eyes her, and then me, and then her again, because Isla now appears to have the countenance of a ticking time bomb. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you again.” She turns to me, her vacant, russet eyes finally meeting mine. “If it’s acceptable to you, I’m going to retire to my room,Your Grace.”

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