{"id":503,"date":"2026-01-21T15:37:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/?p=503"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:37:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:37:50","slug":"paper-vows-novel-chapter-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/paper-vows-novel-chapter-17\/","title":{"rendered":"PAPER VOWS Novel Chapter 17"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PAPER VOWS<\/div>\n
CHAPTER 17 (SPONSORED BY Anonymous)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cGood morning,\u201d I greet Giselle after walking into the kitchen. She looks dressed up. I wonder where she is going on a Sunday like this. Dante said we were going to lie down for a second, but it\u2019s now almost eleven am and that man is still sleeping. He must have been tired. God knows if he had any sleep last night since he was still working at three am and was at my house at seven.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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With her focus on the bag in her hands, Giselle says, \u201cHey, I let Dante in this morning. I hope you don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s fine. I also didn\u2019t know he was coming; I would have updated you,\u201d I say now, pouring myself a cup of coffee. This coffee maker is the best thing we ever bought in this house. I should make Dante something to eat. I hope he is not allergic to eggs and bacon because that is what I am going to make.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhat have you two been busy with all morning. If you were doing it, then you two know how to keep it down. I couldn\u2019t hear anything.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I look at her and shake my head. Why would she try to listen to anything Dante and I do? \u201cDante is still sleeping. He must have been tired. He was still up when I checked on him at three am and was here that early in the morning. When does he get the chance to even sleep?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThat billionaire status didn\u2019t just happen from thin air. A man has to work. Anyway, I am heading over to James\u2019s house; he is not working today, so I am just going to pop up. You and your man have the apartment to yourself. Enjoy yourselves – just don\u2019t do it on the couch or the kitchen counter.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cJust go to your boyfriend, I never tell you where not to do it,\u201d I say, now pouring another cup of coffee. This one is for Dante. I don\u2019t even know how he likes his coffee \u2013 two teaspoons is what I have, so I do that for him too.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cSee you later,\u201d Giselle hugs me and gathers her things. \u201cI\u2019m taking your car.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cYou and James better fill up the tank.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy little sister is dating a billionaire who gave her a black card. I am pretty sure gas money is nothing to you now. Take care, I love you, okay?\u201d She blows me a kiss and heads out.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I pick up the cups of coffee and go to my bedroom. Dante is still sleeping. I put the two cups on my dressing table and get into bed. I kiss him on the cheek, \u201cWakey wakey!\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m not sleeping.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This time, I kiss him on the lips, just a peck and say, \u201cI brought you some coffee, then I will make you something to eat.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhat are you making?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cEggs and bacon with toasted bread. I hope you are not allergic.\u201d I don\u2019t want to be the woman who kills Dante Lyon.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m only allergic to nuts. Everything else I am good.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI will go and get started then. You must be famished,\u201d I try to get out of bed, but he pulls me back, until I am hovering over him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhere is my good morning kiss?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I haven\u2019t brushed my teeth, but lean and kiss him, slow and unhurried. His hands rest on my waist, firm and possessive as the kiss deepens. The room seems to shrink, warmer now, as his touch lingers and my thoughts of leaving fade away. We make sweet love. It would be lovely to wake up like this every day \u2013 lost in each other\u2019s warmth.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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After our little session, Dante and I shower, then I make us something to eat while he is on his phone doing God knows what. I noticed that he is on his phone a lot.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cQuestion,\u201d I say to Dante, causing him to look up and put his phone away. \u201cWhat exactly do you do when you are in one of your clubs?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cMake sure everything is up to date. Starting with the alcohol, making sure we don\u2019t sell customers expired alcohol. Seeing what people buy more and make more money on that. Make sure we always have stock. Making sure my bartenders don\u2019t rob me – etcetera.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI noticed you have male bartenders and waiters. Why not females?\u201d I am curious.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cCustomers tend to bother women more, so it\u2019s better if men serve everyone.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I clear my throat and mumble, \u201cDo you guys have like a VIP section where people do things privately?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe do. We cannot stop grown adults from doing what they want to do.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Eying him suspiciously, \u201cAre there h*okers too?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cNo, Jade Marshal, we don\u2019t do that at 4th Street Club.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Dishing up for us, I say, \u201cI need to check so that when someone throws it in my face, I am not surprised.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cValid. While we are at it, might as well tell you that my ex-girlfriend was at my house yesterday. I found her there when I got home after dropping you off. She was saying a bunch of things, I don\u2019t remember them, but she is nothing to be worried about.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIs she the crazy type? I don\u2019t want to get beaten up,\u201d I say, placing the plate of food and then pouring orange juice for him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cYou beat up men, I am not much worried about you when it comes to that,\u201d he says and I eye. I told him it was a once-off thing. \u201cI am joking, Jade Marshal.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIn the little time I have known you, I know that you don\u2019t joke around.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cTrue,\u201d he says, tasting the eggs. He looks at me and says, \u201cThis is not bad.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cOf course, you would say that. You are used to eating food made by chefs. At least if you ever go broke and cannot afford a chef, I can cook for us.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe ain\u2019t going broke anytime soon baby,\u201d he says, with a small smile.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I noticed that he uses a lot of WEs. He already sees me as a part of his life \u2013 I love that. We eat, then I do the dishes. I doubt this man even knows how to properly wash a cup. His phone rings – he leaves the room, going to mine to answer it. I finish up with the dishes, clean up, then wait for Dante. He is sure taking his time.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u2018Did you arrive at James\u2019 safe?\u2019 I send a text message to Giselle. She better not scratch my car. I know I want to give it to her, but for now, she’d better keep my baby safe. I paid a lot of money for that car.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I get off the chair and go to my bedroom to check on Dante. He says his goodbyes as soon as I walk into the room. It sounded serious, I don\u2019t know why he is hanging up just because I walked into the room.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWas I talking too long?\u201d Dante asks. I tell him that I was just checking on him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then I ask, \u201cWas that work?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He nods, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt sounded serious. What is it about?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He walks closer to me and pulls me to him with my waist. \u201cNothing interesting. Since I don\u2019t have any work today, what do you want to do?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t know, what do you usually do? I haven\u2019t had a life in a hot minute. I was always busy with work – I barely had time to do anything.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWhat would you like to do then? Let\u2019s do what you want to do? Anything you want and anywhere you want to go,\u201d he says. When he says anywhere, does outside the country count? But then the movies would also do for today. I change into jeans and a tee with sneakers. Dante says we will drive to his house so he can change, then we drive to the movies.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u2018Hey, Dante and I are going out. I will tell you if I am coming back or sleeping at his place.\u201d I send another text message to Giselle.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She still hasn\u2019t responded to the other one. I am sure she and James are busy since they cannot get off each other. Dante and I drive to his house. His house is so far from mine that it makes me want to move in with him, so that we don\u2019t have to drive so much. When we get to Dante\u2019s house, I tell him to ahead and change while I get water.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cMiss Marshal, hi!\u201d Anne greets me from behind. She startled me; I almost choked on my water. \u201cMy apologies, I didn\u2019t mean to startle you.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s fine, how are you?\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m good, Mr Lyon mentioned that I should get your phone number in case you need me,\u201d she says politely. I give her my phone number, then she leaves the room. While waiting for Dante, I walk around the house. I was promised a house tour but never got it. In my walking around, I end up getting lost in this big house. All the doors are the same colour I have to go from room to room looking for Dante\u2019s bedroom.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I walk into one room. It seems like this is Dante\u2019s home office. I walk into the room and close the door behind me. His office looks neat and cosy. I sit on his chair and spin around. It must be lovely being Mr Lyon. My phone vibrates in my pocket. I quickly check it, thinking it\u2019s Dante looking for me. It\u2019s just my mother forwarding prayer messages to the family group. This is why I mute groups \u2013 unfortunately, I can\u2019t mute this one since it\u2019s family.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I put my way my phone and my eyes scan around the room. He has another ugly portrait here too. It\u2019s almost similar to the one in his room. He’d better not permit me to change things around the house because that\u2019s the first thing I will throw out. Portraits should be pretty, not this. I understand that art is subjective, but this is just hideous. I will also make sure to force Dante to take a picture with me and put it on the table. What kind of man doesn\u2019t have a single photo on his desk?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I find myself opening his drawers. A big yellow envelope catches my attention. I know I shouldn\u2019t be going through his things, but I cannot help but look inside. There are pictures of me – literally my whole life in this envelope. I know Dante said he did a little digging, but I didn\u2019t expect this. This is everything there is to know about me \u2013 no stone left unturned.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As I am putting the file back in the drawer, my hand rubs against something cold. I lean in trying to see what it is. It\u2019s a gun! I quickly close the drawer when the door opens.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PAPER VOWS CHAPTER 17 (SPONSORED BY Anonymous) \u201cGood morning,\u201d I greet Giselle after walking into the kitchen. She looks dressed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paper-vows-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":517,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions\/517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}