LOGINYvonne’s POVMadame Celeste Duval must’ve already been asleep. You know her steps were too slow and too heavy while she approached us, like someone who had just been dragged out of bed by noise that wasn’t supposed to exist at that hour. But even half-awake, she still carried that quiet authority that made rooms fold back into place.Jack was the first to turn. He spun around so quickly that his grip on my arm tightened for a second before his fingers froze. Bobby followed after him, but the moment his eyes landed on her, his whole posture changed — stiffened, like someone who just realized the ground under him wasn’t as solid as he thought.“Madame Celeste Duval?” Bobby asked, voice cracking at the end.She gave a calm nod, her silk robe shifting as she stepped farther into the living room. “Yes. Perhaps you gentlemen have already heard the news. I have legally adopted Yvonne. She is now the newest heir of the Duval fortune.”The silence hit the room in a strange, cold way, more like
Yvonne’s POVI held my phone between my shoulder and ear while wiping the little water ring the glass cup left on the table.“Mum, you’re sounding stronger,” I said, smiling without even realizing it.Her small laugh came through the phone in a warm manner. “My dear, I told you. This old body has refused to give up. The physical therapist in the south of France said that I’ve been responding to treatment faster than they expected. I even stood on my feet today. Can you imagine?”I felt my chest tighten in a good way though. “Wait, you actually stood? Like… without help?”“With help oh,” she chuckled. “Don’t give me too much credit. But soon, I will walk very well. I am coming to dance at your future wedding, so I cannot be using a wheelchair.”I laughed quietly. “Mum, please. Who is marrying me? Let’s not rush that part, besides I have a long way to go. I am yet to finish high school. Even after that, I have my college and even my career ahead of me.”“Hmm,” she hummed knowingly. “You
Tricia’s POV“That bitch, Yvonne, has clearly come back to ruin me.”My voice cracked the moment we got inside the house. I didn’t even wait for the door to close before collapsing onto the couch, letting the fake tears spill as if my whole world had just been snatched from me. Jack and Bobby rushed in after me, both talking at once, confused, and shaken by the disaster of an event Yvonne had turned upside down. Good! Let them be rattled as that gave me room to display more, into making them believe that I was manipulated by Yvonne.“I swear, she wants to destroy me,” I cried harder, pressing my palm to my forehead like I was close to fainting. “Why would she even do that? Why me? What did I ever do to her?”Jack knelt in front of me immediately, worried about darkening his eyes. “Hey, hey… Trish, breathe. Baby sis, look at me.” He reached for my hands, squeezing them with that overprotective big-brother energy he never wasted when it came to me. “You’re shaking and you just need to
Yvonne’s POVJust then, I noticed a hot tear drop from Tricia's eyes with her glare sent fully to me, like she had some words to say but ended up saying “You!” and had her fingers pointing to me.People started murmuring again — those confused side-whispers that spread like heat. The kind that made the whole hall feel smaller and let's say, tighter. Some of them looked at Tricia like she’d lost her mind, some looked at me like I’d just kicked the table over during dinner. But honestly, the only thing I felt was that tiny vibration in my chest — not nerves, not guilt… that thing you feel when justice finally stretches its legs. You understand better now, right? That was exactly the way I actually felt.One thing they failed to understand was that I came prepared and that I wasn't that same old Yvonne that they used to know.My face didn’t shift. No guilt and no panic either. No “caught in the act” expression they were probably expecting. If anything, I felt my lips twitch in that small
Yvonne’s POVSomehow, my gaze went straight to Adrian moments after that clip flashed across the big screen. The air changed as people’s gasps filled the hall like a wave crashing in slow motion. Some froze with their mouths open while others pressed their hands against their lips as if they could physically hold back the shock.Adrian didn’t even try to hide how lost he looked. His jaw locked, but the tremor in his fingers gave him away. His eyes darted across the faces around him, searching for something—maybe understanding or maybe mercy. But he didn’t find either.Beside me, someone let out a low whistle. “No way…” another person muttered.The whispers were quick, sharp, slicing through the room like little blades of gossip.Tricia’s face twisted before anyone could say her name. Her mouth parted in disbelief, and then she turned toward Adrian, her voice slicing through the noise.“So you never actually loved me like you claimed?” she snapped, her tone almost trembling but still l
Yvonne’s POVWalking into the hall with Liam beside me felt like stepping into a spotlight I didn’t even ask for. I was dressed in a soft gold that hugged in the right places and swayed where it needed to and in turn caught the light every step I moved, and the slit glided with each step like it had its own attitude. My hair matched the tone, sleek and perfectly styled, and the heels were simple but sharp enough to announce I wasn’t here to play.Liam wasn’t doing badly either. His black suit carried this warm undertone that quietly blended to my outfit without trying too hard. When we walked side by side, we looked like we planned it, even though we didn’t really have time to. He just had that calm, steady look that made everything around him seem intentional.The room reacted before we even reached the center. People literally paused mid-conversation, mid-chew, mid-breath. It was that kind of hush that isn’t really silent, more like an admiration wrapped in surprise. Heads turned an







