Page 1 of Hidden Vows
prologue
ABBEY
“You asshole!”I shout, shoving at his chest.
“I told you we were too young! That we rushed this! You’re only eighteen!” Jude shouts, just as loudly.
There’s something in his eyes, but I’m not clear-headed enough to analyze what it is. He’s broken something inside of me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get it back.
“That doesn’t make it better! That doesn’t excuse it.” I turn away, pacing toward the front door of our apartment—our home. “How could you do this?” My voice is so quiet now; all the fight drained from my body. Slowly, I turn back to him, tears welling in my eyes. “I never thought you could do something like this to me—to us.”
“Abbey—” His voice cracks on the single word. He steps forward, reaching for me, but I don’t let him touch me.
“No. You don’t get to touch me right now.” Jude flinches, and I wipe frantically at my face. “I don’t know how we fix this.” My voice is so quiet and I desperately fight to hold back the sobs building in my chest.
I can’t look at him, not with the pain etched across his face.
What right does he have to be in pain?
My eyes fall to the floor. If I keep looking at Jude I’ll break, and I don’t feel safe doing that here, not after what I’ve just discovered.
Squaring my shoulders and with a conviction I don’t fully feel, I meet his eyes. “You want out of this marriage, you got it. I’ll come back tomorrow to get my things. Please don’t be here.”
Somehow, I walk out the door without looking back at him. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t stay—not after this.
Jude may have been telling me for weeks we made a mistake getting married, but I never thought he was capable of hurting me. I never thought he’d go to these lengths to prove me wrong, but maybe I don’t know Jude like I thought I did.
Stumbling out the back door of the building, I look around, trying to figure out where I should go. The person I want to talk to most is my mother, but going to my parents’ house means seeing my father, and I know he’ll gloat about my failed marriage.
The need for my mother’s comfort far outweighs the dread of seeing my father. She’ll let me cry and scream and feel whatever I need to feel without judgment or comment, and that’s what I need more than anything else.
Still refusing to look back at the building that’s been nothing but comfort since I first walked through the doors, I steel my spine and walk toward the street.
Maybe the long walk will help me figure out how this happened.
one
ABBEY
Seventeen Years Later
How anyone convincedme this was a good idea is beyond me. I want—more than anything—to be happy for my friends, but weddings have always been something I avoid like the plague.
But then again…
My eyes drift to the man who’s felt like more of a father to me than my own—a man who didn’t judge me and accepted me back into his life sixteen years after we last spoke without question.
I couldn’t say no to Walt if my life depended on it.
Out of everyone in this town, Walt is the only person who really knows me—even if we’ve only been back in each other’s lives for the last seven months.
The spark in his eyes as he laughs with the women who are now my best friendsalmostmakes me smile. But then Declan pulls Quinn into his arms, and the look of love that passes between them has the green-eyed monster rearing its ugly head.
I hate how seeing them happy makes me feel. If anyone deserves this happiness, it’s the two of them. I’m amazed theyfollowed through with this wedding, especially considering Quinn’s father, Scott, passed away only three weeks ago. But even with my limited time with Scott, I know this is exactly what he would’ve wanted.
The happiness of those he loved is all Scotteverwanted, and it’s clear Quinn and Declan are happy together.
“Is it really so bad being here?” A deep voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I can’t help the small smile that breaks through at how well this man still knows me after all these years.
