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Chapter 5

ผู้เขียน: Zuzu
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-07-18 01:27:12

On the evening of the party, the apartment sparkled with a thousand little elegant touches: discreet string lights, candles lined up on the console, soft background music floating between budding conversations. There was a certain solemnity in the air, as if something important was about to happen.

Thomas flitted from one corner to another of the room, clearly at the height of excitement. He wore a brand new, well-tailored midnight blue suit that highlighted his slender figure. On the coat rack by the entrance, another equally new suit awaited Ethan's arrival.

Léa stood by the hallway mirror, adjusting a black dress she hadn't worn since a distant evening. A simple cut, slightly flared at the hips, that hugged her body without extravagance. She said nothing about Thomas's oversight, not a word about this lack of gesture, this glaring lack of attention. But she had felt it. Strongly. And she had swallowed it in silence.

A sigh escaped her as she stared at her reflection. She was beautiful. Even without a new dress, she exuded quiet grace. Yet, something was amiss. She couldn't imagine herself in her place, here, tonight.

— Léa! called Thomas from the living room. Come on, everyone is starting to arrive!

She took a deep breath, smiled at herself in the mirror, and stepped out of the hallway's shadow.

Guests arrived gradually, bringing with them a vibrant and effervescent energy. Laughter echoed in the apartment, glasses clinked softly, and the air filled with the subtle aroma of carefully prepared dishes. Léa, standing by the laden table, greeted familiar faces and others completely unknown with a polite smile.

With each passing minute, her unease grew. She imagined a thousand versions of him: the free-spirited and daring man from Thomas's stories, the unpredictable brother admired without ever truly understood, the charmer pursued by women, the fighter who had forged himself alone. Was he as fascinating as everyone said, or just a memory embellished by nostalgia?

The evening was already in full swing. Laughter erupted, conversations intertwined in a joyful cacophony, carried by soft music that enveloped the room like a veil. Léa, slightly withdrawn, observed. She felt disconnected, like a silent spectator in a film where she did not hold the leading role.

Suddenly, she spotted Thomas slipping into the hallway, his phone pressed to his ear. She furrowed her brows slightly and strained to listen while remaining in her place.

— Ethan, you’re not going to pull a dirty trick on me, you need to get home quickly, everyone is waiting for you, he said in a low but tense voice.

A silence of a few seconds.

— Everyone? replied a deep voice on the other end of the line. What are you up to, Thomas?

— I'm not up to anything! Dinner is ready and we’re just waiting for you, Thomas insisted, a bit annoyed.

Then, without giving his brother a chance to reply further, he abruptly hung up.

He returned to the living room, his face taut with a nervous smile. His uncle Gérard welcomed him with a pat on the shoulder, immediately sensing the source of his distress.

— I hope he keeps his word... I don’t want him to pull a dirty trick on me, Thomas murmured under his breath.

Gérard gave a reassuring smile.

— Your twin is annoying, it’s true. But he’s a man of his word. Stop worrying for nothing, Thomas. He will come.

Thomas nodded without much conviction, but his gaze remained fixed on the front door. Léa watched him from afar, her heart tight. Tonight, she had never been more aware of being a stranger in this story that did not revolve around her.

It was then that a door opened, in an almost theatrical breath, and Nathan entered the room.

He was impossible to miss.

His tall figure stood out in the doorway like a hero returned from a long journey. He wore a midnight blue shirt, slightly open at the collar, revealing an athletic, tanned torso. His broad shoulders naturally commanded respect, but it was especially his radiant, carefree smile, as if he had never doubted being the center of attention, that electrified the room.

When Thomas spotted him at the entrance, he hurried through the crowd with quick steps, his face lit up with a sincere, almost childlike smile. He rushed toward him and embraced him warmly, disregarding the eyes around them.

— I thought you were going to pull a dirty trick on me, he whispered, holding him tighter than necessary.

Nathan chuckled softly, his arm around his brother's shoulders.

— You’re putting me on display here, Thomas... Why didn’t you tell me you organized a party for my return? If I had known, I would have at least bothered to buy myself a decent outfit.

Thomas stepped back a bit to look at him better, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

— I know you love surprises. So I bought us matching suits... Of course, you’re too late to wear it.

Nathan shook his head, amused.

— Ah! I had forgotten how much you love to play your role to perfection. You never change.

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  • My fiancé, his brother   Chapter 5

    On the evening of the party, the apartment sparkled with a thousand little elegant touches: discreet string lights, candles lined up on the console, soft background music floating between budding conversations. There was a certain solemnity in the air, as if something important was about to happen.Thomas flitted from one corner to another of the room, clearly at the height of excitement. He wore a brand new, well-tailored midnight blue suit that highlighted his slender figure. On the coat rack by the entrance, another equally new suit awaited Ethan's arrival.Léa stood by the hallway mirror, adjusting a black dress she hadn't worn since a distant evening. A simple cut, slightly flared at the hips, that hugged her body without extravagance. She said nothing about Thomas's oversight, not a word about this lack of gesture, this glaring lack of attention. But she had felt it. Strongly. And she had swallowed it in silence.A sigh escaped her as she stared at her reflection. She was beauti

  • My fiancé, his brother   Chapter 4

    In the morning, Léa was awakened by a voice she hadn't heard in a long time: Thomas's, joyful, almost euphoric.He was on the balcony, phone to his ear, laughing, exclaiming, speaking quickly, animated.She lay still for a moment, frozen, eyes open, listening without moving. She no longer heard that laughter from him.And certainly not with her.She slowly got up, crossed the bedroom in calculated silence, and headed to the bathroom. The cold water from the tap jolted her back to reality, like an electric shock. She looked at herself in the mirror, observing the traces of a restless night, her swollen, dark-circled eyes. She tidied her hair a bit, quickly tied it in a ponytail, then stepped out.Thomas was still on the phone.Still as cheerful.Still as absent.She did not try to interrupt him. He wouldn’t have noticed her.She entered the kitchen, made herself a tea, slowly, mechanically. She took a sip, then headed to the sofa, settling in with the morning newspaper.Thomas walked i

  • My fiancé, his brother   Chapter 3

    The day passed in a blur of meetings and repetitive tasks. Léa struggled to focus on her projects, on the straight lines and curves she was drawing, on the plans she was adjusting to the millimeter… but her mind wandered endlessly. It escaped as soon as she let her guard down, projecting her into unknown landscapes, vibrant cities full of life, where she could get lost and be reborn. She dreamed of wandering through the alleys of a foreign city, the taste of the unknown, the warmth of a new gaze. She dreamed of freedom, of a fresh breath that would sweep away the suffocating monotony.As the hours passed, she felt herself drifting away from herself. The screen in front of her was just an opaque wall, and behind it, the blurry outlines of a woman tired of fighting against a life that was too narrow.When the end of the day arrived, Léa was exhausted. But it was not a physical fatigue. It was deeper. A dull, invisible exhaustion, the result of a constant struggle against her own thought

  • My fiancé, his brother   Chapter 2

    After swallowing one last bite of toast, Thomas got up without another word. He adjusted the sleeves of his shirt, mechanically grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair, and then approached Léa.He placed a quick kiss on her forehead, almost automatically. A gesture that had become routine, emptied of its meaning.— See you tonight, he murmured.Léa did not respond. She closed her eyes for a moment, involuntarily savoring the fleeting warmth of that contact, wondering how long it had been since that kiss meant anything to her.The front door closed with a quiet click, and silence fell once more.She remained there, alone at the table, her hands around her now lukewarm cup. The smell of coffee still lingered in the air, but it felt foreign to her.Everything in this apartment seemed tidy, clean, organized… except for her heart.Léa got ready for the day. She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, scrutinizing the reflection that faced her. Her face retained a familiar softness,

  • My fiancé, his brother   Chaptet 1

    The sweet morning song mingled with the first rays of sunlight filtering through the light curtains of Léa's apartment. A stream of light caressed the white sheets, warming the still cool air of dawn. Léa slowly emerged from her sleep, her eyelids still heavy with vague and fleeting dreams. The bedroom, decorated in a minimalist style, reflected her taste for simplicity: white walls, a shelf filled with carefully organized architecture books, and a green plant, the only touch of life, that seemed strangely to thrive despite the little light.Beside her, Thomas, her fiancé, slept peacefully. His chest rose and fell at a steady, almost hypnotic rhythm. Léa watched him for a moment. His relaxed features could have moved her, once upon a time. Now, she felt little. Or rather, she felt too much, but nothing of what she would have wished: weariness, a vague feeling of suffocation, silent melancholy. She looked away.She got out of bed carefully, making sure not to creak the floorboards. As

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