Chapter 37: A Promise Unkept

Even after the emotional turmoil of the evening-the stilted reunion, the sharp jabs of Arnold's words, the quiet weight in every glance-dinner somehow went on.

They sat around the table like a family pretending not to fall apart.

Skylar kept her expressions carefully neutral, her eyes distant, her smile faint but polite. William mirrored her restraint, never letting his gaze linger too long, never letting too much show.

Asher, blissfully unaware of the undercurrents, chatted between bites. Arnold, however, simmered with unspoken questions.

"Where are you living these days?" he asked, tone trying not to sound accusing.

Skylar's fork paused mid-air, but she didn't look up. "Arnold... don't worry about me. Mind your own business and focus on your studies."

It wasn't rude. Just final.

He opened his mouth again, then closed it.

The rest of the dinner passed in fragile silence.

\---

Back at the hotel, a thick quiet fell between William and Skylar as soon as the door clicked shut behind them. No words. No glances. Just space thick with everything unsaid.

She went to her bed, scrolling absently through her phone as though the screen might distract her from the ache lodged somewhere deep.

He sank onto the couch, flipping through a book he wasn't really reading. The lines blurred, paragraphs passed, but the weight in the room only grew heavier. It stretched between them-awkward, unfamiliar, aching with the things they once were.

Eventually, Skylar stilled. Her phone slipped from her fingers. Sleep claimed her, not out of peace, but exhaustion.

William looked up and noticed. Gently, he set the book aside and stood. Moving quietly, he approached her and pulled the comforter up over her shoulders. She didn't stir.

His hand lingered a second longer than necessary.

Then he turned off the light.

The soft hush of night fell.

He stepped out onto the balcony, the city below flickering like distant memories. Above, the stars blinked down indifferently, as if they too had witnessed everything and said nothing.

His fingers curled around the railing, knuckles pale under the strain-not from anger, but from the ache of holding on too long to something he couldn't fix.

The memory rose unbidden, like it always did when he was alone. The night he made a choice-not a mistake, but a decision-that shattered something precious.

The night of their engagement.

William's POV

I adjusted the collar of my tailored navy suit in the mirror, my fingers trembling slightly. A thousand things had to go right tonight. The guards were in position. Surveillance was tight. Jack was on standby.

Nothing could go wrong.

She was safe.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

After everything she had endured-every wound, every betrayal-tonight was meant to be different.

A beginning.

Something beautiful to help her believe again.

Then the door slammed open behind me.

Jack rushed in, breathless. His face was pale, eyes wide with alarm.

"William-someone broke into Skylar's suite."

The air around me froze.

My spine went rigid. "What?"

Without a word, he held up his phone. The screen played a security feed.

I leaned in.

A shadowy figure, completely covered-long coat, wide-brimmed hat, dark glasses, a mask-slipped through the hallway like a phantom.

Deliberate. Unhurried.

Not a burglar in panic.

They weren't looking for her, but knew what they came for.

The intruder opened her drawer with practiced ease. Reached in. Took a small box.

That box.

The one from Uncle Green.

My stomach dropped.

The pocket watch.

That wasn't just a gift-it was the last unopened chapter of uncle Green's story. She didn't even know it held the key to the truth. And now... it was gone.

I couldn't think.

Could barely breathe.

Everything inside me narrowed to one single, roaring instinct-Get it back.

I bolted.

Down corridors, heart thundering.

Down stairwells, feet slamming against metal steps.

Through a fire exit, into the thick night.

There-the thief.

They jumped from the hotel's edge onto the roof of a delivery truck below. Rolled. Kept running.

I followed.

Reckless. Desperate. Consumed by the chase.

But while I was chasing shadows through the city-

While my lungs burned and adrenaline surged-

I didn't know what she was facing back at the banquet.

And when I found out later...

God.

Even now, just remembering it-

I still can't breathe.

______

William opened his eyes to the dark blue sky-vast, empty, starless.

Just like his life.

A stretch of darkness with no glimmer of light, no trace of hope.

He turned slightly, his gaze drifting through the translucent glass toward the bed inside.

There she was-Skylar.

Asleep. Still. Unaware.

His chest tightened.

He shut his eyes, but not fast enough.

A single tear escaped, trailing silently down his cheek.

He tried again-closed his eyes, harder this time-

But memory had already cut through him, sharp and merciless.

William's POV

That evening, in the heart of the grand banquet hall-She was waiting.

Waiting for me.

Dressed in that embroidered gown I'd never forget, Skylar stood beneath a ceiling of chandeliers, her glass heels pressing into the marble floor. The hall shimmered in gold, filled with laughter, clinking glasses, and guests wrapped in silk and ego.

But she... she was still.

Because I hadn't shown up.

At first, the crowd whispered gently-curious, amused.

"He must be running late."

"Probably stuck in traffic..."

"No, I guess planning a grand entrance."

"Yes, possible."

But then... they changed.

"I don't think he is coming."

"Such bad luck."

The longer I stayed away... their words turned cruel.

"He's not coming, is he?"

"She really thought someone like William Scott would marry her?"

"She's always been too much baggage."

"Like father, like daughter. A fraud."

"Bet he ran away."

Each word, each poisoned murmur, aimed at her like arrows-and I wasn't there to shield her.

Because with every second I didn't appear... the banquet turned from celebration to spectacle. And she, from bride-to-be to abandoned girl draped in diamonds.

And still she stood there. Proud.

But I know her spine was held up by pain, not strength.

The fire in her throat, the crack in her chest-only she could hear them.

Then Eva's voice cut through the noise-soft, polished... venom in velvet.

"You really thought he'd go through with it?" she said, loud enough for people nearby to hear. "Please. He was only doing it for his grandmother. Everyone knows it."

Laughter-thin, sharp-rippled around her.

And then Evelyn...

She stepped closer to Skylar, that smile on her lips sweet as poison.

"William belongs with someone who won't drag him down," she whispered. "Someone who knows how to carry the Scott name-not shame it."

She said it like a secret, but made sure enough ears heard it.

And those ears... they echoed it.

A few guests snorted. One of the uncles scoffed audibly.

Someone muttered, "This is why you don't mix with girls from fallen families."

"She's clinging to a name that doesn't want her," someone else added.

They didn't just insult her.

They stripped her dignity layer by layer-publicly, methodically.

Whispers sharpened into barbs.

Her father's scandal turned into gossip-fed cruelty.

Her mother's illness, twisted into shame.

Even her silence-once her quiet armor-was made a target.

She stood amidst it all, draped in grace, the glitter of the banquet dimmed by the storm in her eyes.

Not a tremble. Not a plea.

Just composure-delicate, breaking at the edges-while waiting for me to back and suppress the rumours.

The murmurs rose.

"He ran away."

"Knew he wouldn't go through with it."

"She should've known better."

"Will you all just shut your filthy mouths!" my grandmother snapped, stamping her cane the way she always did when furious.

She tried to take a step toward Skylar-but her legs gave out.

She collapsed, right there in front of them all-

Not just from age.

But because she couldn't bear what they were doing to that girl.

While they rushed my grandmother to the hospital, not a single person stepped toward Skylar-not even my parents.

She stayed rooted, still waiting for me-believing that the moment I arrived, everything would change.

\--------

Somewhere across the city, the screech of tires shattered the night. A body crumpled onto the asphalt beneath harsh streetlights.

I hurried over, my breath catching in my throat. The thief lay motionless, the disguise that once concealed him now askew.

I searched him quickly-pockets, jacket lining-but the watch was nowhere to be found.

It was gone.

Then came the call that changed everything.

A raspy voice, cold and deliberate:

"The thief is gone. I'm sorry for your loss."

My grip tightened. "Who is this?"

"Doesn't matter. What matters is - the evidence is still safe. But if you want it... break the engagement. Tonight."

I froze. "I won't do that."

"Then I'll destroy the watch - Sebastian Green's legacy, Skylar's last hope."

"Don't do this."

"You have until morning. End the engagement, and you get the location. Or it's gone forever."

Silence followed. My heart raced.

If I stayed, I'd protect her heart.

If I walked away, I might clear her father's name.

I chose.

When I returned, the hall had emptied. Grandma had collapsed. Chaos had scattered the guests.

But Skylar was still there.

She rushed to me, eyes pleading.

"Where were you? Why so late?"

I couldn't look at her. My hands trembled.

Then I said the words that shattered her.

"Because I don't want to get engaged to you."

And just like that, I broke her.