Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 51 - Chapitre 60

Chapter Fifty-one •BRIANNA• After more than an hour of driving, the car finally pulled into the parking lot of the mall. It was by far the biggest mall I had ever seen. People were constantly streaming in and out, making me wonder who the owner was. Whoever they were, they must be incredibly rich. “Are you going to get out, or are you just going to keep staring at the mall like you’ve never seen one before?” Mr. Adrian’s voice broke me out of my reverie. I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous statement. He never ceased to get under my skin, and it made me want to punch his handsome face or slap him senseless. “Oh please, as if seeing a big mall is some sort of achievement,” I said coolly. “Seeing one isn’t an achievement, but owning one is,” he replied with a smug smirk before getting out of the car. It clicked in my head—he was the owner of the mall. Just how many industries did this man own? He had a tech company, an automobile industry, restaurants, and now a mall? I was working f

Chapter Fifty-three •BRIANNA• After trying on what felt like a thousand dresses (okay, it was only about fifteen), I finally emerged from the dressing room with a scowl plastered on my face. Mr. Adrian had rejected them all—too revealing, too concealing, too short, too long—nothing was right. My body was starting to feel like it had been through some bizarre workout, with me constantly slipping in and out of dresses to no avail. The dress I had on now was a red velvet fishtail gown with thin straps. The bodice was black, featuring a sweetheart neckline adorned with pearls. It was a little more revealing than I’d usually go for, but I didn’t mind. Paired with black satin gloves that reached just past my elbows and a snow-white fur shawl, I felt like a glamorous snow queen. Isabella looked me over, her smile wide and approving. “This dress suits you perfectly,” she said, her tone light and full of admiration. “It’s not too revealing, not too concealing, and it brings out your curves

Chapter Fifty-five |NEXT DAY, 3 P.M.| •BRIANNA• It was afternoon now. Mom and I had just returned from shopping a few minutes ago, and we’d also picked up her medication. Now, we were resting, while I anxiously awaited the arrival of the makeup artists. The closer the time drew for Mr. Adrian to pick me up, the more jittery I became, wondering what the gala would be like. I went upstairs to take a quick shower before coming back downstairs to wait for the artists. I didn’t even realize when I dozed off on the couch and slipped into a dreamless nap. I was woken by Mom calling my name. “Brianna, Brianna!” She called, and I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the afternoon sunlight streaming through the open curtains. I blinked a few times and then shut my eyes again. “Hmm?” I hummed, still half-asleep, rubbing my eyes. “The makeup artists are here.” Her voice was more insistent, but the sleepiness in me made it hard to fully process what she said. “What?” I murmured sle

Chapter Fifty-seven •BRIANNA• The moment we stepped out of the limousine onto the red carpet, camera flashes bombarded us from every direction, momentarily blinding me. I instinctively raised my hands to shield my face, only for the nervousness to grip me harder than I expected. I thought I had gotten over this, but apparently, the fear of being the center of attention was still with me. After all, this was my first time in the spotlight like this. I kept my hands up for a few moments, my body frozen in place. It was overwhelming, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. But then, I felt Mr. Adrian’s hand gently rest on my shoulder, and he leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “Lower your hands,” he said softly. “The reporters are taking pictures. You don’t want them to catch you with your hands up, do you?” I shot him a look, still feeling the panic, but I could tell he was teasing me. “I don’t care about the pictures,” I whispered back, my voice tight. “The flashes are bli

Chapter Fifty-nine •BRIANNA “I’m going to kiss you now,” Adrian said, and his lips descended on mine. I froze for a moment before I started to reciprocate the kiss. Our lips moved in sync, and soon, we were lost in each other’s embrace. I held onto his neck tightly because my legs felt like jelly, and I would have fallen if I didn’t hold on to something. His tongue snaked into my mouth, and our tongues began a battle of dominance, with his quickly taking control. The kiss grew more intense as we continued moving our lips without pausing to breathe. His hands remained on my waist, kneading gently but never daring to move further. We were so deep into the kiss that we completely forgot about the dance floor, surrounded by so many people. But we didn’t care. We just wanted to continue sucking on each other’s lips like they were our lifeline. It was as if we were in our own world, where only the two of us existed, with no one else to disturb or interrupt us. After what felt like an et