Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 10

How can I not know the face of the woman who, as my sister-in-law has told me too many times to count, is Derek’s first and true love?Jealousy, as I have never known it before, grips me, and I feel my heart constrict as I watch the two of them laughing at something that she had said.“Oh … my God! That lying, heartless, evil, cheating bastard!” I say under my breath with blurry eyes, my chest tightening even further until it feels like I can't breathe. Finally, Derek’s strange behavior all makes sense. His ex is back after all these years and he wants to discard me like a pair of old shoes because of her. The chemistry between the two of them is as clear as day, and as I watch them, I realize that in all the years that we have been married, he has never laughed so heartily at something I said.“Oh, please! Don’t act so surprised. Did you think a handsome and rich dude like my brother was going to remain with someone like you for the rest of his life? It was only a matter of time.”

Determined not to embarrass myself by losing my composure, I turn away from him and walk back to my table, my legs unsteady and my eyes swollen from unshed tears. I notice that Denise is now seated with two other men and a woman, who are all dressed in formal wear. They must be the other clients that he had talked about. Okay, so maybe he was telling the truth about the business meeting, but I still have a strong hunch that he and Denise have something going on. I can see it in the way they can't stop looking at or smiling at each other and in their general body language too.I decide to stop torturing myself and ignore them for the rest of the evening. There is no rest for me, however, because as soon as I sit down, Amanda and her mother start what they do best … which is antagonizing me in a bid to provoke and get a reaction out of me. “Barren, ugly bitch! I don’t know what my brother ever saw in you.” Amanda taunts me after several minutes have passed since I returned to th

DEREK’S POV My entire body hurts like hell, and my head is pounding like there are a million troops in it, but I do not go home. Instead, I head straight to the office, dressed in the shirt and trousers that I wore to dinner last night, although I do not wear the suit.I don’t want to have to deal with Ava and the accusation that would no doubt be in her eyes once she sees me. Last night was quite chaotic, but I’m not ready to explain anything to anyone just yet.“Sir, your wife, um … Mrs Turner, erm, Miss Ava, left these for you.” My secretary informs me when I get back to the office, handing me the divorce papers that I gave to Ava the previous night.To my utter surprise, she has signed them. Knowing Ava, I had thought that this would be a prolonged mess and that she would refuse to sign the papers and continue to declare her love for me. “Hmm. What is that woman playing at now?” I wonder aloud.“Sir, she also refused to accept this. She said she doesn’t need it.” My secretary say

DEREK’S POVMy life is a living hell. There is no other way to put it, and I have only myself to blame for it. I dread going home from work every day, but I have no choice other than to do it. There’s no way I’m going to be kept from my own home.My son is the only ray of sunshine in my life, but then, even the joy he brings into my life is dampened by seeing him suffer so much day in, day out.Today, as I step into the house, the whole house is silent, which means that Denise probably took our son, Barry out of the house to spend some time with him, which would be a good thing because she neglects the boy way too much.When I get into the kitchen though, I see that I’m wrong. Barry is seated on the floor of the kitchen, with a huge tub of ice cream in front of him, and he’s stuffing his face with the ice cream.He smiles widely when he sees me, and I return the smile, but inwardly, my heart is aching. Barry’s whole body and the floor around him are stained with ice cream and he is cl

“I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor, Ms. Jones. I’d be forever in your debt if you can grant it.” I say, my heart in my throat.Her answer matters a lot to me. It’s also weird to have to call her Ms. Jones, but now is not the time to dwell on that.“I would like to please ask you to consider someone I recommend for the female lead role in the movie.”“Well, how good is this person? The success of the movie is my major priority so if they are a good actress, then I could consider giving them the role.”“She’s very good.” I rush to assure her, although I’m not so sure of that fact. At least, Denise would not say I didn’t try.“Okay, great. I’d schedule a session to see just how good she is and decide if I'm going to cast her or not. So do you have any questions concerning what we have discussed today?”“Um, no. I don’t. thanks.”“Great. I’ll see you out then.” Ava says, getting up and offering her hand for me to shake.I want to say something … anything that would remind her