Where Destiny Forgot Us 1

Where Destiny Forgot Us 1 Summary

The story begins with Avery describing her husband Beckett’s severe addiction, which has kept him emotionally distant despite their seven years of marriage. Although married, Beckett has never physically touched her, choosing to submerge himself in ice-cold water to control his urges. Avery has tried to reach out to him multiple times, but his only response is a gentle kiss on her forehead and assurances that he would never hurt her, promising a lifetime of platonic love.

 

On their anniversary, Avery encounters Bella King, a young woman undergoing her ninth hymen repair surgery, who bitterly calls Beckett a “bastard.” This revelation shakes Avery deeply, especially when she secretly places a GPS watch in Bella’s purse to track her. Later, Avery listens to a disturbing conversation on the watch’s audio feed, where Beckett and others mock Avery, belittling her past and purity while praising Bella’s supposed innocence. The cruel words and laughter bring back painful memories of Avery’s kidnapping and torture before her wedding, a trauma that caused her to recoil from physical touch.

 

Despite Beckett’s repeated affirmations that Avery is pure and beautiful, the conversation reveals his cold justification for their relationship: he married her to keep her safe, not out of love. The guests mock Avery as an orphan who should be grateful to marry into the Vale family and suggest she be treated like a pet. The night ends with Bella teasing Beckett with a surprise, while Avery, overwhelmed by shame and fury, breaks down in tears and vomits, haunted by the betrayal and cruelty she has uncovered.

 

In the quiet aftermath, Avery recalls the vows Beckett made on their wedding day, including her warning that she would disappear from his life if he ever betrayed her. With a heavy heart, she removes her wedding ring and makes a decisive call to Beckett’s mother, signaling a turning point and her acceptance of terms that hint at a significant change in her life. The chapter closes with Avery confronting the painful reality of her marriage and the choices she must now face.

Chapter 1

My husband struggled with a severe addiction—one that consumed him in a way I could never fully understand. Despite being married for seven years, he had never once touched me.

To keep his urges at bay, he would immerse himself in ice-cold water, day and night, his arms marked with the scars of countless needle pricks. It was a painful sight, a physical manifestation of the battle raging within him.

On more than one occasion, driven by heartbreak and desperation, I tried to bridge the distance between us. I reached out, hoping to break through his walls. But his response was always the same: a gentle, restrained kiss pressed softly to my forehead.

“Avery, don’t be foolish,” he would say quietly. “I’m not like those monsters who hurt you before.”

He assured me, “How could I ever bring myself to hurt you? For you, I’d willingly live a lifetime of platonic love.”

This strange and painful obsession clung to him for seven long years. Even as the toll on his body and mind landed him repeatedly in the hospital, he refused to cross that invisible boundary between us.

Everything changed on our anniversary this year, when a young woman arrived for her ninth hymen repair surgery.

Under the haze of anesthesia, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. She sobbed softly, like a frightened kitten lost in a storm, her eyes glassy and feverish.

I couldn’t help but notice the kiss marks scattered across her skin. Another girl who had made painful choices, I thought bitterly.

Then, through her final sob, I heard words that froze me in place.

“Beckett, you bastard.”

My hand trembled so violently I nearly dropped the scalpel.

Because Beckett was my husband’s name too.

After the surgery, I slipped my own watch—one with a hidden GPS—into Bella King’s purse, quietly, without a sound.

That night, I sat alone at the dining table, staring blankly at a feast untouched and growing cold. Across the room, the luxurious jewelry his assistant had delivered gleamed silently under the dim light.

“Mrs. Vale,” the assistant’s voice came through the intercom, “Mr. Vale said he has an important business meeting tonight and won’t be home for your anniversary. He personally selected all of these gifts for you.”

I barely registered the words, my eyes fixed on the cold dishes before me.

Opening my iPad, I traced the watch’s GPS signal to Silvercrest Heights, an exclusive villa district known for its opulence.

That diamond watch was a gift from Beckett himself, equipped with the most advanced GPS and audio surveillance technology. Ever since I was kidnapped years ago—a brush with death that haunted him for months—he had become obsessively protective of my safety.

Suddenly, a voice crackled through the speakers, breaking the heavy silence.

“It’s your seventh anniversary with Avery. You’re really not coming home tonight?”

The tone was teasing, mocking.

After a pause, a lazy, sardonic laugh followed—Beckett’s unmistakable voice.

“Go home and face that miserable expression?”

I pictured him perfectly: leaning back in his chair, cigarette between his fingers, smoke curling lazily around him.

More laughter followed, glasses clinking in the background.

“I heard you still haven’t touched Avery after all these years. She’s stunning. How do you hold yourself back?”

“Are you crazy? Everyone knows Beckett only sleeps with virgins.”

“Avery may be pretty, but she’s already been with someone else. How could she ever compare to Bella’s purity?”

Bella’s shy giggle echoed through the room.

A cold shiver ran down my spine, and my hands began to shake uncontrollably.

It was as if I had been dragged back into the darkest chapter of my life—one I had fought so hard to forget.

The night before our wedding, his enemies had kidnapped me.

To disgrace the Vale family, they tortured me relentlessly for seventy-two hours.

When Beckett finally found me, he lost control completely.

After that, I developed a deep trauma response. The mere touch of anyone would make me physically recoil.

Beckett would choke on his words, repeating over and over,

“Avery, you are not tainted. You are the purest, most beautiful soul in this world.”

Back on the call, amid drunken laughter, someone sneered,

“Then why did you marry her? Seven years is a long time. You must feel something, right?”

The room went silent.

Even through the screen, the weight of that silence pressed heavily against my chest.

Beckett took a slow sip of liquor, speaking deliberately.

“Come on, don’t be childish.”

“I don’t touch her because she’s tainted. But if I hadn’t married her, who would be responsible if she ended up dead?”

Laughter erupted again.

“Oh, right. She might actually die without you.”

“She’s an orphan. She should be grateful she married into the Vale family.”

“A woman like that can be kept happy with luxury goods… just treat her like a pet.”

The party finally ended, and when the last guest left, Bella’s voice returned.

“Beckett, I prepared a surprise for you. Want to guess what it is?”

He swallowed the last of his wine and let out a low, amused hum as he lifted her into his arms.

“Let’s find out.”

My cheeks burned with shame and fury.

Something cold trickled down the back of my hand.

I didn’t even realize I was crying until tears soaked through my fingers and dampened the wedding ring on my finger.

I forced my stiff body to move, then suddenly laughed—a bitter, furious sound.

In one swift, angry motion, I swept the carefully arranged dishes from the table onto the floor and began to vomit violently.

The noises from the surveillance feed continued well into the night, almost until dawn.

Bella’s voice, hoarse from crying, whispered again, “Beckett, you bastard…”

I slipped my wedding ring off and remembered the vows he had made on our wedding day.

“Beckett, if you ever do something unforgivable, I will disappear from your world forever.”

The twenty-two-year-old Beckett had been so confident then, his eyes sparkling with promise.

“That would be a shame. You’ll never get that chance in this lifetime.”

I stared at the broken, miserable reflection staring back at me from the floor-to-ceiling window.

Wiping away my tears, I picked up my phone and dialed his mother.

“Mom, I’ve made my decision. I accept your terms.”