MasukHELENEA month had passed since my contract marriage with Lucien came to an end.In what felt like the blink of an eye, so much had changed.The most significant development, of course, was Lucien's complete recovery.He no longer needed a wheelchair.Even now, I could still vividly remember the first time I saw him standing in front of me, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit.He looked like the same Lucien I'd known for the past year, yet there was something undeniably different about him.Perhaps it was the way he carried himself. Or maybe it was the confidence that seemed to come naturally when he was standing on his own two feet.Whatever it was, a fully recovered Lucien was simply leagues ahead of the man I'd once watched navigate the world from a wheelchair.And I couldn't have been happier for him.Soon after his recovery, Lucien also managed to uncover the truth behind his accident.It hadn't been an accident at all.Marcus and Julian had conspired with the Morgans, one of th
HELENEFor the entire duration of my long flight back to Solstice City, I remained in a constant state of anxiety. Even when I forced myself to take a nap, my sleep was filled with nightmares about something terrible having happened to Lucien.There was nothing I could do about it, though. Until I saw him with my own eyes, I knew I wouldn't be able to rest easy.Finally, after more than ten hours, the plane touched down at Solstice Airport.The first thing I did after landing was turn off airplane mode and check my phone for messages and missed calls from either Lucien or Adrian.There were several.The missed calls were from Lucien, while the message was from Adrian.The moment I read his text saying that nothing serious had happened and that Lucien was fine, the overwhelming relief nearly made my knees buckle. I clutched the handle of my suitcase to steady myself and took a moment to regain my balance.Adrian had also mentioned that they were already on their way home when he'd sent
LUCIENDr. Hayes studied the scans on the monitor for a long moment before turning to face me."Mr. Blackthorne, I'll be direct with you. What we're seeing here has no straightforward clinical explanation."I sat in front of him with Adrian standing behind me, my brows instinctively furrowing as various possibilities flashed through my mind.“What do you mean?”Had my condition worsened?I turned the possibility over briefly, then pushed it aside and looked at Dr. Hayes's face instead.He looked solemn, but there was something else there too. A mixture of fascination, doubt, and amazement.It was as though he had encountered something he could hardly believe himself.“Have you undergone any form of treatment in the past few months?” he asked. “Anything at all.”“Nothing,” I said. “I've been either at home or at the office.”He nodded slowly, then looked back at the screen. His gaze returned to me a moment later before he let out a breath that sounded almost like a laugh—short, quiet,
HELENEThe moment the phone slipped from Lucien's hands and left me staring at the ceiling, I could no longer hold back the fear threatening to overwhelm me."Lucien!"I called his name again, but there was no reply.Only the faint, steady sound of his breathing reassured me that he was still there. It was the only thing keeping me from losing my composure entirely.The pallor of his face before the phone slipped from his grasp, the way he'd tried to reassure me despite the pain—both images kept replaying in my mind.Worse, I had no way of knowing whether he was still conscious.The more I thought about it, the colder my hands became.No.I shook my head sharply.I couldn't afford to panic. Lucien needed me now more than ever.With that thought, I forced myself to take one slow breath."Lucien, if you can hear me, stay with me." My voice came out less steady than I'd intended, and I let it. This was already the best I could manage. "I'm going to call Adrian. He'll be there soon. Just
LUCIENI never imagined I was capable of missing someone with such intensity, but three weeks of Helene being in Country H had taught me just how wrong I'd been.It couldn't even compare to the time she'd gone to stay with her grandparents.That had been different.This time, we weren't separated by a few streets, but by countries, and somehow, that distance made her absence far more pronounced.Nights were the worst of it.Ever since I'd kissed her the night before her departure, I'd rarely managed to get through one without dreaming about her.Rubbing my aching temple, I glanced down at my watch.It was already well past closing time, yet I had no particular desire to return to an empty house.Then I remembered that our daily call would be in roughly two hours, and my mood brightened almost immediately.It seems I couldn't avoid going home after all.The corners of my lips lifted at the thought.Over the past three weeks, I'd learned something about Helene through our calls: she did
HELENEIf there was one person who was happiest about my business trip being postponed, it was undoubtedly Lucien.And he wasn't even trying to hide it.In fact, the moment I told him I would be staying behind, the way he tried—and ultimately failed—to contain his delight had been almost comical.But in the end, I didn't actually get to spend much time with him. I was busy at the studio, while he had the company to deal with.Still, over the next four days, he made a point of dropping me off at work every morning and picking me up every evening.Thanks to that, everyone at the studio soon knew that I was married.And, apparently, to Isabel's cousin at that.They teased me relentlessly about it until I had no choice but to put on a scowl and scare them into shutting up.Meanwhile, the Jordan situation had finally been resolved.After our lawyer forwarded the evidence to the other photographer's legal team, they quickly recognized that the entire matter had been a misunderstanding, with
LUCIEN For the first time in my life, I felt as though I wasn’t intelligent enough. From everything Helene had said so far, it was obvious she found the idea of replacing Noemie and marrying me just as ridiculous as I did. She had even clearly foreseen the consequences it could bring—especially fo
LUCIENI read through the document in front of me meticulously, and only signed my name at the bottom after confirming there were no issues.The entire time, I could feel my trusted assistant—Adrian Hale’s—hesitant gaze lingering on me from across the study table. He had been like that for the pas
HELENEThe seating arrangement was almost identical to two days ago.My mother and Noemie sat together on one sofa. I sat alone on the opposite one. My father and Camille occupied the two armchairs.Only this time, there was no need to wait for anyone to arrive.Everyone was present.“I know this i
HELENEI had barely driven out of the villa compound where the Laurents lived when an incoming call notification lit up the dashboard screen.Grandma.I used to think that after all these years—and with the memories of my past life—I had successfully detached myself from whatever the Laurents did.







