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Chapter 25
publish date:
2026-04-06 08:05:05
Latest chapter
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 41
Maya’s POVThe city of Verlaine blurred into a smear of rain-streaked neon as the armoured SUV lurched away from the boutique. Streetlights stretched into golden fractures across the wet windshield, breaking apart every few seconds as we sped through intersections that no longer felt like roads—just risks.My heart was a frantic bird trapped in my ribs, drumming against the silk of my suit in uneven, panicked bursts. Each movement of the vehicle sent my body slightly off balance, like the world itself had lost its center of gravity.In the backseat, Chloe was strapped into her car seat, clutching a worn plush rabbit. Her eyes were wide, alert in that unsettlingly quiet way children get when they’ve learned not to ask questions. She didn’t cry. She never did during these runs.She just watched.She was used to the “hush-hush” games we played when the cameras got too close—but she wasn’t used to the way Léo was driving.The SUV felt different tonight. Heavier. More urgent. Like even the
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 40
Maya's POVThe Rue de la Paix was a gauntlet of flashing bulbs and high-octane chatter, but as I stood on the threshold of my own boutique, the applause felt like static. My hand was still cold from the weight of the brass key Léo had just tucked into my palm.“Smile, Maya,” Léo murmured, his breath brushing my ear as he stepped up behind me. His suit was a dark, impenetrable charcoal, and his hand on my waist was the only thing keeping me from vibrating out of my skin. “The world is watching. Don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing the cracks.”I stepped into the light. I was wearing a suit of my own design, ivory silk with shoulders so sharp they could draw blood. I cut the ribbon, the silk falling away like a shed skin, and the crowd surged forward.But as I moved through the sea of socialites and critics, my eyes kept darting to the back of the room. I wasn’t looking for a buyer. I was looking for a threat.“The Renauds don’t play defence,” Léo said into my headset as he moved
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 39
The morning of the boutique opening carried a tension that hummed beneath the surface of Verlaine like a live wire.Even the air felt stretched—tight, expectant, waiting for something to snap.On Rue de la Paix, the VOSS flagship stood in stark, deliberate defiance of its surroundings. Where the neighboring boutiques leaned into tradition—limestone facades, gold-trimmed windows, quiet old-money elegance—VOSS was obsidian and glass. Sharp lines. Dark reflection. A structure that didn’t ask to belong.It announced itself.Behind the floor-to-ceiling windows, mannequins stood like sentinels draped in the “Surgical White” collection—clean cuts, precise silhouettes, garments that looked less like fashion and more like declarations.And above them, catching the early light like a blade—VOSS.Not hidden.Not borrowed.Owned.I stood at the center of the showroom, the scent of fresh white lilies weaving through the sharper undertone of polished floors and new paint. It filled my lungs, stead
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 38
The museum site at dawn looked like a cathedral stripped of its soul—skeletonised steel rising into a bruised sky of grey and violet. The wind cut through the unfinished structure in sharp, restless currents, carrying the scent of wet concrete, ozone, and cold dust.Verlaine was still waking below us.And I stood thirty-eight floors above it, watching the city inhale its first breath of light.For three years, this place had been a reminder of everything I had lost.Now, it was the first thing I truly owned.“The foreman is downstairs,” Léo said.His voice cut cleanly through the wind.He was leaning against a structural pillar, hands buried in the pockets of his heavy wool coat, his posture relaxed in a way that only looked casual to people who didn’t know him well.“He’s waiting for sign-off on the cladding,” Léo added. “The Ashford logo’s already in the dumpster behind the site trailer.”That made something in me shift—not satisfaction exactly… but release.I turned toward him.Up
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 37
POV: MayaThe heavy scent of cedar oil and industrial steam usually acted as my tether, but today, the air in the workshop felt charged—like the seconds before lightning strikes a crane.I stood at the drafting table, my fingers tracing the jagged edge of a new blueprint. The lines were sharp, deliberate… but my mind wasn’t. It lingered somewhere else—caught in the quiet, devastating wake Daniel had left behind.“He’s spiralling.”I didn’t look up. I didn’t need to. I could hear Léo leaning against the doorway of the stitching room, the soft, rhythmic click of his lighter breaking the silence. It was a habit he only returned to when something inside him was wound too tight.“He’s not spiralling, Léo,” I said softly. “He’s evaporating. There’s a difference.”The clicking stopped.A second later, his boots crossed the floor—slow, grounded, deliberate. He didn’t stop until he was close enough for his presence to wrap around me, solid and unyielding. I felt the heat of him before I felt h
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 36
POV: Third Person (Daniel)The elevator ride down lasted sixty seconds.It felt like a lifetime.The scent of the loft clung to Daniel’s clothes—cedar, paper, and something softer beneath it. Something warm. Something human.A child.It followed him into the mirrored walls of the elevator, where his reflection stared back—perfectly dressed, perfectly composed… and completely hollow.For the first time in years, Daniel Ashford didn’t recognize the man looking at him.He looked like a success.He felt like an absence.The doors slid open.Daniel didn’t go to the office.He didn’t call his board.He didn’t even check his phone.He drove.Fast.The silver coupe cut through the rain-slick streets of Verlaine, tires hissing against asphalt, the city blurring past him like something he no longer belonged to.By the time he reached the detention center, the storm had settled into a steady, relentless fall.Fitting.The visiting room was exactly what he expected—sterile, unforgiving, stripped
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter Ten
The shipping crates smelled of cedar and salt.I stood on the gravel driveway, watching the courier van disappear down the coastal road. Inside those boxes were five pieces of my soul—wrapped in acid-free paper, labeled VOSS.“There goes the first volley,” Sarah said, balancing Chloe on her hip.Ch
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter Nine
The first time I saw Chloe’s face, I didn’t cry.I was too exhausted for tears—my body raw, shaking. It was 3:14 a.m. in a small hospital ward that smelled of disinfectant and rain. Sarah was asleep next to me, the plastic chair creaking with each shallow breath.The nurse handed me the bundle.Chl
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter Twelve
The night of the Verlaine Autumn Gala was colder than usual.A biting wind swept through the limestone boulevards, but I stayed in the loft, watching the distant lights of the Palais de Justice flicker through the industrial windows.I didn’t need to be there to feel the shift.For eight years, I h
The Day I Stopped Loving Him Chapter 11
The train pulled into Gare de Verlaine at exactly 6:14 p.m.The station hadn’t changed.Glass. Steel. The constant hum of people convinced they were late for the most important moment of their lives.Three years ago, I had sat here—pregnant and homeless—clutching a one-way ticket and a broken heart
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