Broken Vows

On his 24th birthday, Tyson receives an ultimatum: he has one year to find a wife, or his father will refuse to pass down the family legacy. Tradition demands a married heir, but settling down is the last thing Tyson wants—until a chance encounter with a captivating stranger leaves him haunted by the memory of her touch.

Tess believed her life was perfectly on track. Freshly graduated and engaged to a member of one of her town’s most prominent families, she was ready to embrace her future. But everything shatters when she walks in on her fiancé and best friend in a betrayal she never saw coming. Heartbroken, she flees without a plan—only to collide headfirst into a complication she never expected.

Tess's POV

I stood in front of a mirror looking at myself and the transformation that the team had done on me was amazing. I had always envisioned my wedding day and that I would be Cinderella and that is exactly how I felt right now. I had this big, beautiful ball gown wedding dress that sparkled under lights, and it cost more than my car and my hair was done up beautifully and my makeup was flawless. I felt like the perfect bride, and I had the perfect fiancé.

Jack and I went to the same high school growing up but we didn't start dating until our junior year of college. He was getting his business degree, and I got my nursing degree. He had always been a caring; attentive boyfriend and I had fallen so in love with him. He came from old money and was set to inherit his family's company at twenty-six. That was still three years away, but he would spend the next three years learning everything he needed from his father, Jack Sr.

The door to my suite opened and my mom walked in, and I could see the tears instantly fill her eyes. "Oh sweetie, you are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

"Mom, you have to say that."

"I do but I didn't have to mean it, and I do mean it. You look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you."

"I'm so proud of you. You have grown to be a wonderful person, you got your degree and now you are marrying a man that you love so much, and I know that he loves you. You seem to have beaten all the odds."

My mom was a teen mom, with parents who didn't support her decisions to keep the baby and a baby daddy who split before I was born. She worked two jobs most of my life and sometimes three. She took care of me and made sure I never lacked for anything. Her biggest wish for me was to grow up and get an education and if you think she is being emotional now you should have seen her when I graduated.

"Have you seen Sloan?"

Sloan was my best friend since college. We were roommates during our freshman year, and it was like an instant friendship. We clicked and have been friends ever since. She knows everything about me, and I love her like a sister. I don't know that Jack and I would have ever gotten together if it wasn't for her. She may have facilitated a date for us and after that it was all magic between him and I.

"No, I haven't seen her in a while." Weird I thought. She said she was just going to check on something and be back in ten minutes and now it's been thirty.

"Mom, I'm so nervous, I need you to tell me that I'm doing the right thing."

"Of course, you are doing the right thing but if you have any doubts you don't have to do this. We can get you out of that gown and walk out with no one noticing. I'm sure that it is pre-wedding jitters. Completely normal."

"No, I want to marry Jack, but my gut is just in knots. I'm sure you're right and its pre-wedding jitters."

"Just nerves darling." She said and kissed my cheek. "Ok, I'm going to go downstairs and greet guests."

She brushed out of my room and left me confused because she didn't know anyone. We were each other's family. We had no one else.

As the minutes ticked down and Sloan still wasn't in here, I decided to go and find her. It was almost time, and we were supposed to walk down there together. I opened the door of my suite and poked my head out of the door and made sure that Jack wasn't down here for some reason. He wasn't and so I slipped out the door and started walking down the long hallway.

I stopped at each door opening them. Not sure why she would be in any of these rooms, but I had no clue where she was, and I also had no clue where my phone was to call her. I wasn't able to find her on this floor and so I headed to the stairs and again made sure that Jack was nowhere to be seen and ran down to the next floor and started going through each room. This place was huge. I don't even know how Jack's parents were able to secure it, but it was like a giant castle.

When I came to the last door in the hallway, I could hear noise, but I wasn't sure what it was. That feeling I felt earlier that my mom said was nerves, got worse. I wanted to vomit right now but I grabbed a hold of the doorknob and twisted and pushed the door open.

They didn't even hear the door being opened and I stood there in complete shock watching.

"Fuck you feel so good." Jack moaned.

"Better than your fiancé?" Sloan asked.

"The prude would never let me do this."

I was torn on what to do. They had their backs to me and Sloans dress was pushed up over her hips and Jack's pants were around his ankles. Did I say something and then leave or do I just leave? Let's be real, I'm going to explode.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" I yelled and they stopped, and both slowly turned to look at me.

I was so mad that I could feel my face turning red and the tears were burning my eyes, but I wanted to kill both of them. I wanted to grab a knife and cut off Jack's gentiles and toss them at Sloan. This was the ultimate betrayal. I stood there for a second longer as both of them just stood there staring at me.

"Fuck both of you," I yelled and stormed out of there. I ran back to the stairs and right back up to my suit.

"Tess wait," I heard Sloan yell but I sure as shit wasn't going to wait around. I ran back to my suit and grabbed my bag and my phone and ran back out.

"Tess, please," Sloan said as soon as I saw her in the hallway.

"Get the hell away from me."

"No. I need to explain."

People were starting to gather around the bottom of the stairs, and they were starting to mummer. I ignored them.

"You want to explain that you've been fucking my fiancé behind my back. You've been my best friend for four years or were you just using me."

"Tess, that is enough," Jack's voice boomed and I was far from over with him.

"Get your cheating lying nasty hands off me. I'm sure they have been shoved up the slut's twat." I yelled and made sure that it was loud enough that everyone that was downstairs could hear and they got louder with their whispers.

Jack pulled on my arm and jerked my arm out of his grasp and the fact that he was trying to defend her was sickening to me and I saw red as I pulled my arm back as far as I could and let it fly making contact with his nose and hearing that crunch of the bones in his nose was a little satisfying.

"You know what, you two can have each other but watch out she has herpes."

I took a step towards the stairs when my head was jerked back by my hair and turned to see Sloan angry ready to fight but it wasn't worth it. I pulled the ring off my finger and tossed it at her. "Neither of you are worth it. I hope that you have a happy life together."

I ran down the stairs where my mom was waiting for me and her keys in her hand. Everyone was still whispering but I didn't care because I wasn't going to wait around for anything. I ran straight to the car and jumped into the front seat and my mom jumped in the driver's seat and she took off like a woman possessed.

"Tessalynn, I'm so sorry that he did that and even more sorry that Sloan did this to you, but I'm so damn proud of you for punching the cheating asshole in the face, just wish you would have done the same thing to Sloan."

I had to laugh because if I didn't, I would start crying. I also needed to get out of my dress. I reached behind me and pulled the zipper down and started to work my dress down as my mom got onto the interstate. I got the dress down and grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head and then worked the rest of the big ass ball gown off of me.

The second my mom pulled into her driveway I jumped out of the car and jerked the dress out and headed out back. "Mom grab me the lighter fluid and a lighter." I yelled.

I dropped the dress into the fire pit in the backyard and waited for my mom and she came a few minutes later with what I wanted and a smile on her face. She approved of this. His parents had paid for everything, including this dress and now it was going to ash, just like our relationship.

I dumped half the bottle of the lighter fluid on it and then lit it on fire, and instantly a ball of fire went up, and the dress burned to nothing in just a few minutes, leaving the jewels and wires in it.

I sat on the grass on the grass and watched as the jewels started to melt and my mom sat down beside me. "What now, Tess?"

"I don't know mom. I was supposed to be saying my vows right now."

"You can move back in with me."

"I'm going to have to for a bit until I can figure things out. I'm supposed to start my job in two weeks. Maybe I can see if I can start earlier."

"Tess, we need to talk." Jack's voice boomed through the backyard.

I stood up and marched over to him ready to kick him in the balls but this time he stepped back as I got closer. "Leave me alone. I'm not doing this. You cheated and that is the end of our relationship."

"It didn't mean anything. She was an easy lay."

"Obliviously, but Jack, I don't forgive you and I won't. Leave me alone you no good lying sack of shit."

"Tess, come on, how did you not know? This is just how things go in our world. I do the nasty things to other women and then I come home and treat you like a queen. It's what my dad does, and my mom is perfectly fine with it."

"Well good for your mom and I'm not OK with it. Fuck off with your whore Jack and leave me alone. I will get my stuff tomorrow from the apartment, preferably with you gone."

"Screw you Tess, you weren't good in bed anyways, why do you think I went looking."

He walked away and I prayed that was the last time I saw him because if I saw him again, I might murder him or in the least punch him in the dick.

"Sweetie, let's go in and I will make you some food and then you can get some sleep, and we'll figure things out in the morning."

My mom really was the best ever. Always there for me but the plan going through my head was going to kill her. I couldn't stay here. I can't chance running into either of them. I was going to run; I just had to figure out where I would go.