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Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Five
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2025-11-18 10:10:56
Latest chapter
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven
Celeste’s POVIt was Saturday morning.The kind that made me wish time would slow down.Ryan had shown up right after breakfast, toolbox in hand and a teasing grin on his face.“Alright, Sinclair,” he said, kicking off his shoes by the door. “Where do you want me?”I raised an eyebrow. “That’s a dangerous question.”He smirked. “You know what I meant.”“Mm-hm,” I said, pretending to examine a pile of unopened IKEA boxes in the spare room. “Bed frame first. Grace’s old room needs to stop looking like a crime scene.”He stepped in beside me, sleeves rolled up, veins visible under tanned forearms. “You mean this mess of bolts and confusion?”“Exactly that.”“Should be a walk in the park,” he said, amusement flashing in his eyes.“Really?” I was surprised because assembling a bed took a lot.“Yes,” Ryan nodded simply, “I only need one thing to make it all easy.”I raised my brows, “Is there a tool missing? Should I have gotten more-”I couldn’t quite finish my sentence because Ryan’s mouth
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Six
Vanessa’s POVMrs. Collins’ estate glittered like money dressed in pearls.The chandeliers were too bright, and the people… God, the people were so pretentious they made me want to laugh.But I didn’t. I smiled instead, that sweet, disarming smile that made people lower their guard.Tonight wasn’t about sincerity. It was about strategy.“Vanessa, darling!” Mrs. Collins cooed, gliding toward me in a gown that looked like it had been dug out of the last century. “You look radiant.”“I could say the same about you,” I lied easily, kissing her cheek. “Your home is absolutely divine.”She beamed. “You must meet my husband. He’s been dying to put a face to the name after hearing about your new designs.”Of course he has. Everyone’s been dying to, I thought.Mr. Collins was a portly man with an over-oiled smile.“So you’re Vanessa Abrams,” he said, shaking my hand as though he was conferring knighthood. “I’ve heard a lot about you from my wife. Apparently, you’re changing the game at Crown Lu
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Five
Celeste’s POVThe door clicked softly behind me as I stepped into my mother’s house.The smell of cardamom tea and buttered toast filled the hallway.It was like a balm to my overthinking soul.I had that familiar ache again, the one that came every time I realized how late it was and how Molly had spent another evening without me.Claire looked up from the sofa when she saw me.“Finally,” she said, setting down her cup. “You work like the world’s ending tomorrow.”“I know. Sorry, Mom,” I sighed, slipping off my heels. “We were finalizing the Paraiba piece. I didn’t mean to keep her this long.”“You never do,” she replied softly, but her tone held no anger. Only weariness. “She’s in the playroom.”I nodded and headed toward the small room down the hall.The door was half open, spilling warm light into the corridor.Molly was sitting cross-legged on the floor, coloring something intently.Her tiny fingers gripped the crayon too tightly, her brow furrowed in concentration.“Hey, sweethea
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Four
Celeste’s POVThe hum of the polishing wheel filled the room, soft and rhythmic, as I ran my thumb along the final curve of the setting.Morning light filtered through the studio windows, pale gold cutting across the glass cases and scattered gemstones.When Ryan entered, I tried not to smile like a fool, remembering our shenanigans from early morning.He wasn’t supposed to look at me like that, but he did. Just one look, and my chest tightened.His lips curved up at one corner, like he knew exactly what I was remembering.“Morning, boss,” he said, voice low, rough in a way that was still echoing in my body from last night.“Morning,” I murmured, not daring to meet his eyes for too long.Two hours had passed since we’d stumbled out of the Atelier, hair messy, hearts still racing, pretending to be just colleagues escaping an early shift.I’d laughed so hard I nearly tripped.And now here we were. Pretending again.He came closer, careful but magnetic as always, sleeves rolled up, a fain
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Three
Celeste’s POVThe first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was soft, golden light filtering through the half-closed blinds of my studio.Then, a breath later, I saw him.Ryan was still asleep beside me, one arm draped loosely around my waist, his face turned slightly toward mine.The faint rise and fall of his chest was steady, peaceful, maddeningly beautiful.His hair was tousled, shoulders partially covered by the throw blanket of the couch.We’d fallen asleep like this.For a long moment, I just watched him.The way the sunlight caught on his lashes, how his lips parted slightly as he exhaled.I told myself I wasn’t staring. I was just... appreciating art.“Are you cataloguing my flaws again?” he murmured suddenly, voice low and thick with sleep.I startled, then laughed quietly. “You were supposed to be asleep.”He cracked one eye open, lazy and teasing.“Hard to sleep when someone’s looking at me like they’re sketching me in their head.”“I wasn’t-”“You were.” He smiled, slow, kno
No Way to Win Me Back Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Two
Celeste’s POVThe last traces of sunlight had slipped away.I wasn’t sure when we’d stopped talking, when the air between us had grown heavy with something neither of us wanted to name, but I felt it, every glance, every brush of his hand as he adjusted a tool or a sketch.Ryan’s presence was magnetic.I could feel it drawing me in, like gravity I could no longer resist.I had given myself to him once. Giving into him a second time felt like an inevitability now.He stepped closer, and I realized he had been waiting, watching for the moment neither of us could delay any longer.“Are you not going home for the day today? Everything’s done with the paraiba. We’ll go together to submit it the day after.”I took a deep breath and motioned for him to enter the studio.“I… I’ve been meaning to say something to you,” I started, not where I was going with this.“When you confessed your love for me in front of all of those people, something inside of me just felt like it was too performative.”
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