Chapter 40Élodie's point of view -I should never have come in without hitting. When I pushed the door of Clara's office, I expected everything ... except that. Victor and Clara. Together. His tone threatening. Clara's frozen expression. And then ... his words. "Between you and me, it's over. There will never be anything between us." My heart tightens suddenly. I have the breath. A thrill travels my spine. I surprised something I should never have heard. Victor's gaze crosses mine. He panic. He stutter my first name:- Élodie ... I'm not waiting for the rest. - Sorry. I immediately close the door and move away. My throat is knotted. My legs suddenly seem heavier. Why ... why did he keep that for him? Why did he never tell me that Clara was her ex? I pass the scene in a loop in my head. Victor said it clearly: "There will never be anything between us.""Never again" ... Which means there has already been something. A bitter taste invades my mouth. No matter how much I try to
Chapter 39Victor's point of viewThe phone still in hand, I close my eyes for a moment. - It's confirmed, sir. The cameras were tampered with. My jaw is tense. I inspire slowly. -Thank you, I said to him before hanging up. My gaze is going to the door of Clara's office. If it's not Elodie ... she is her. I clench my fists. Everything in her shouts guilt. I cross the corridor with a heavy step. Each step is accompanied by a climb of anger. Did she dared? When I arrive in front of her desk, I find her plunged into her screen, concentrated. His fingers hit the keyboard with ease, as if none of that was real. As if she had not just played with the work, reputation and dignity of Elodie. My hand trembles. I want to catch her, shake her, force her to admit. But suddenly, an image arises. My mother. The dry noise of a slap resonates in my skull. The cries. My standing, imposing father, the burning look of rage. And my mother, fragile, curled up on the ground. One evening when he had
Chapter 38From Elodie's point of viewI sit at my office, focused on a backrest, when the door opens suddenly. Victor enters without hitting. His face is closed, his eyes dark and cold. I frowns. What takes him? -Where were you at noon yesterday? He asks dry. I raise my head, surprise. - On lunch break, why? He doesn't answer right away. He advances towards me, places his laptop on my desktop and pivots the screen to me. - Look at. On the screen, a document appears. A quote, a signature ... mine. I feel my heart contracting. - What is that? Victor meets his arms. - A document that you signed. A document that could harm the business. I blink, stunned. - What ?! But ... I never signed that! I get upset, taking the computer in my hands. My gaze scans each line, and there I feel panic to go up. - Victor, I swear that I have never seen this paper. He says nothing. His silence ice. - Victor ... I assure you. I would know if I had signed that. Still nothing. He fixes me, im
Chapter 37Clara's point of viewI observe it, this Élodie. Still there, always smiling, as if she had won the jackpot of the year by putting her hand on Victor. It is to vomit. She doesn't deserve it. Before she landed in this company, Victor and I were inteparable. He came to my office, we shared late dinners, we often finished our nights together, in crumpled sheets and muffled sighs. But all that was before she appeared from nowhere with her innocent little air. She stole me what belonged to me. I clench my fists while watching her pass in front of my office. She is arrogant, she believes she has won. But she does not know who she is dealing with. RumorsI started with the first step: the whispers in the corridors. It only takes a few words well placed to good people. - "You knew that Elodie had this position thanks to a relationship with a framework?"- "She makes management errors, but Victor covers her because they go to bed together."- "She does not have the level for thi
36Isa's point of viewThe night was soft, the slightly fresh air caressed my skin while I was waiting for Élodie near the car with Victor. The restaurant lights projected a sifted light on the sidewalk, creating a calm and almost intimate atmosphere. Victor was by my side, his gaze lost in the void, his hands in the pockets of his elegant coat. He gave off a presence that I had never really noticed before. I had known him for a long time, before he became this influential and sure man of him. Before he was the one that my sister loved today. I turned my head towards him and broke the silence with a posed voice:- You really changed, Victor. He seemed to get out of his thoughts and looked at me with a slight smile. - Well, I hope? I let out a little laugh. - Yes, in good. You have become a powerful man, thoughtful ... You are no longer the carefree young boy whom I once knew. He haussed an eyebrow, amused. - Did you see me carefree, at the time? I shrugged, crossing my arms
Chapter 35Elodie's pointThis dinner was an idea of Victor. A way to "spend time with my family", as he said. He wanted to know Isabelle better, and I found it adorable. But at this precise moment, I almost regretted having accepted. Sitting in front of him, I watched him laugh with my sister, a wine cup in hand. And then, he dropped this sentence, which immediately made me raise an eyebrow. - Isabelle, you grew up in a strange way ... But I must admit that you have become really beautiful. Pardon ? I slowly turned my head towards him, slightly tightening my fork. Isabelle, she laughed, a little embarrassed but amused. - Oh thank you, Victor. It's nice, even if "in a strange way" sounds weird. Victor shrugged with a smirk. - It's not negative, it's just that ... I knew you a teenager, and now you are a woman. It's funny. I may know that there was no ulterior motive, a wave of jealousy rose in me like an uncontrollable reflex. I put my wine cutting on the table a little too a