Unbroken Vows

Chapter 12

Tul's life had turned into a nightmare.

After the last brutal encounter with Max, Tul was left abandoned, cold, and alone in the dingy apartment that once felt like a prison. When he finally regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the blood—his own blood—and the sheer pain that wracked his body. He was broken, physically and emotionally.

Through the overwhelming agony, Tul somehow managed to gather enough strength to make his way to a government hospital. He had little to no savings, only what was left from when he was working back when he was with Mew. With no real job and no support, his life had spiraled out of control.

The hospital was cold and uninviting. Tul felt out of place, his growing belly only making things worse. He was carrying a constant reminder of the abuse and the trauma inflicted on him by Max.

The doctor’s news shattered whatever hope Tul had left: he was expecting twins, but because of the intense physical abuse and the stress he was enduring, he had already lost one of the babies. He was barely holding on, both physically and mentally. The baby that survived was weak, and Tul’s body was fragile, making the pregnancy even more complicated.

Alone, heartbroken, and carrying a child from a man who destroyed his soul, Tul felt like the world was suffocating him. He left the hospital with nothing but the weight of the tragedy he was living. Without a place to go, he found a small commercial space in the city where he could hide. He couldn’t live in peace there, though.

Every day, as his belly grew, so did the disdain of the people around him. They didn’t just see him as an outcast—they saw him as a freak, an abomination. Every time he walked down the street, he heard whispers behind him, felt the stares of strangers burning into his back. People called him names—alien, monster, untouchable. It was suffocating. They treated him as if he didn’t belong, like he was something unholy for being a man carrying a child.

On some days, he could barely bring himself to leave the cramped space where he stayed. On other days, he forced himself to walk, to breathe, even if his heart was shattered.

One day, while walking down the street, Tul passed by a small café. It was their favorite café—his and Mew’s. The memories hit him like a flood.

It was the place where he had asked Mew to meet him that fateful day—the day of the accident. It was supposed to be a happy day. He had wanted to tell Mew about the pregnancy, to share the joy of their growing family. But instead, everything had fallen apart.

The memories of Mew and him sitting in that very café, smiling, chatting like everything was perfect, came rushing back. Tul could almost hear the faint echo of Mew’s voice, of the words that changed his life forever: “Will you marry me?”

It hadn’t been some grand proposal. They were just sitting there, sipping their coffee, and suddenly, Mew had taken his hand, eyes full of love and certainty. He asked him to marry him. Tul had said yes without hesitation, his heart full of hope and love. He remembered the way they smiled at each other, their eyes meeting with a silent understanding that their love could overcome anything.

But that hope was short-lived. When they came out to their families, everything had fallen apart.

For Mew, the rejection from his parents had been swift and brutal. His family, with their elite reputation and high-class pride, couldn’t accept that their son had chosen to marry a middle-class boy. Mew had a heated argument with his father, and Tul knew how much it had hurt Mew to be rejected by the people who were supposed to love him unconditionally.

But for Tul, it was even worse. His middle-class family had been more concerned with societal norms than with their own son’s happiness. The love Tul had for Mew meant nothing to them in the face of judgment from others. His mother had called him a disgrace, and his brother—the person he had trusted the most—had abandoned him without a second thought.

The arguments had been vicious. The words his family threw at him were cruel and heartless. Tul remembered that night so clearly—how he had stormed out of his family’s house in tears, only to find Mew in a similar state. Both of them were shattered, abandoned by the very people who were supposed to stand by them.

They had found solace in each other’s arms that night. Back in the apartment they shared—Mew’s condo, but a place that Tul had turned into their home—it felt like the world outside didn’t matter. In that small space, their love was enough to block out the pain. Tul had cried in Mew’s arms, the hurtful words of his mother and brother echoing in his head, but Mew’s presence had been his comfort, his safe haven.

Now, standing outside that café, Tul felt the emptiness in his chest grow. He missed Mew. He missed the love they had shared, the warmth of his touch, the way Mew had always made him feel like he was the only person in the world that mattered.

But now, everything was different. He was carrying a child that wasn’t Mew’s, a child that was a reminder of the abuse he had suffered. He had lost so much, and the pain of losing Mew felt unbearable.

Tul wiped the tears from his eyes and continued walking, but the memories wouldn’t leave him. They clung to him like a shadow, always reminding him of what he had lost and what could never be.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Mew. And no matter how hard he tried to bury the pain, it never went away.

To be continued...