Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

I could feel the weight of their eyes on me, heavy and assessing, like physical pressure against my skin. Each gaze carried different intentions—some curious, others suspicious, a few openly hostile—but all shared the same underlying quality: calculation. Nothing and no one was viewed without first determining value, usefulness, or threat level. I was being cataloged, dissected, my worth measured in ways I couldn't fully comprehend. Their scrutiny raised goosebumps along my arms despite the warmth of the crowded room, a primitive response to predatory attention that no amount of composure could fully suppress.Watching. Calculating. Assessing my worth. These weren't casual observations born of idle curiosity. These were deliberate evaluations made by men who had built empires on their ability to read people, to identify weaknesses and strengths with a single glance. I could almost feel them stripping away layers of pretense, searching for the truth beneath the carefully constructed fa

The conversation around the table continued, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. The voices of everyone blended into a meaningless hum as something else captured my awareness—a subtle shift in the atmosphere that prickled against my skin. I could feel him before I saw him. A new presence. A shift in the air that altered the energy of the entire room.It was subtle at first—the way the men at the table adjusted their posture, straightening almost imperceptibly in their seats. The way their laughter quieted just slightly, becoming more measured, more controlled. The way Dante's fingers, which had been idly tapping against his crystal glass, suddenly stilled. These minute changes spoke volumes. Whoever this man was, he mattered. He carried weight in this world I was still learning to navigate.I turned my head just as he approached, stepping into the warm glow cast by the ornate chandeliers overhead. The golden light seemed to accentuate everything about him—his height, his posture, t

I kept my expression carefully composed, even as my pulse hammered against my ribs. The room around us continued its rhythmic flow of conversation and laughter, the clink of crystal against crystal, the low murmur of business being conducted beneath the veil of social niceties. None of it penetrated the strange, tense bubble that had formed around our corner of the table. Because I could feel it—the weight of Alessandro's stare, the slow, deliberate way he studied me.His gaze traveled over my features with the careful attention of someone memorizing details for future reference, lingering on my eyes as if searching for something specific there. His smirk was lazy, the slight curve of his lips suggesting amusement at some private joke, but his eyes—his eyes were sharp. Focused. Predatory in a way that made my skin prickle with warning.The businessman who had attempted to steer the conversation back to safer topics had given up, turning his attention to one

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, trying to force the chaos inside me back into a cage. The physical pain helped, providing a focal point, a tether to reality as my thoughts threatened to spiral completely out of control. I fought to keep my expression composed, aware that dozens of eyes might be watching this interaction, analyzing.Before I could even process my next move—A chair scraped back violently across the marble floor.The sound sliced through the air like a blade, cutting through the music, the conversation, the carefully maintained veneer of civility that coated this gathering of predators. It was a jarring, discordant note in the symphony of luxury and power.The room tensed. Conversations faltered mid-sentence. The clinking of crystal glasses ceased. Even the orchestra seemed to hesitate, the music temporarily losing its confident rhythm before recovering. The collective attention of the room shifted, drawn like sha

My heart was pounding in my chest, my breath unsteady, but I forced my legs to move, pushing forward, running after him. Each beat seemed to echo through my entire body, a drumbeat of determination that drowned out the whispers of caution. The gravel crunched beneath my heels as I hurried up the steps, the sound jarringly loud in the quiet night. My lungs burned with the effort, with the fear, with the desperation that propelled me forward despite every warning sign telling me to stop, to wait, to retreat."Dante!" My voice echoed through the grand foyer, bouncing off marble floors and high ceilings. The sound was smaller than I'd intended, more pleading than demanding. It betrayed the uncertainty beneath my resolve, the fear that tangled with my need for answers.He didn't stop. The straight line of his back remained unbroken, his stride unfaltering as he moved down the long corridor toward his study. The place where secrets lived, where truths were locked awa