Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 121 - Chapitre 130

LilaIt started with whispers.Not the kind that echo behind your back but the soft, closed-door kind that stop when you walk into the room.The first time I noticed, I brushed it off.Mom had insisted on coming home for a few days. The doctors said it was okay, as long as we had a nurse check in every morning. And for the first time in weeks, there was actual color in her cheeks.She laughed more. Slept better. Asked for tea in her favorite china cup.And then she started disappearing.Not in the literal sense just little moments.Long phone calls she cut short when I entered the room. Little pieces of paper she'd tuck under her pillow. Soft knock and whisper conversations with Luca behind closed doors, like they were both planning something they didn’t want me to know about.Like right now.I was coming down the stairs when I heard her voice, hushed and excited, in the sitting room with him.“No, no, she’s never liked roses. It has to be peonies,” she was saying.“I already took care

LilaThe house finally quieted down after dinner.Alex had gone back to his apartment, Mom was resting in the guest room, and Luca had wheeled himself into the study to catch up on whatever empire-shaping emails he hadn’t answered yet.I stood in the kitchen for a long time, drying the same mug over and over, replaying the last few days in my head.The peonies.The whispers.The knowing looks.It was all starting to feel like a puzzle where every piece was shaped like my name.And even though Mom kept saying *it’s nothing bad*, my chest felt too tight to breathe.Finally, I set the mug aside and walked to the study.Luca was bent over his desk, reading something on his tablet. He didn’t look up when I came in.“I’m busy,” he said without heat.I ignored that and crossed the room, stopping right in front of him.“We need to talk.”He sighed, setting the tablet down, but he still didn’t meet my eyes.“About what?”I folded my arms.“You know exactly what.”“I don’t,” he lied.“Luca.”His

LilaIt was the night before the wedding.And for the first time in months, the house was quiet in a way that didn’t feel suffocating.Mom was already asleep upstairs, exhausted from helping Luca finalize the last-minute details. Luca himself was tucked away in his study, refusing to let me see whatever final touches he was working on.It was almost midnight.I should have been in bed, but my mind wouldn’t slow down.I walked out to the terrace instead, wrapping one of Luca’s heavy sweaters around my shoulders. The night was warm, but my skin still prickled with nerves.Tomorrow, I was going to marry him again.Not for money.Not because I had no other options.Because I loved him.Because I couldn’t imagine this life without him.I pressed my hand over my stomach, breathing slowly, trying to soothe the restless little kicks beneath my palm.“You’d better sleep tonight,” I whispered. “Or your mama is going to walk down the aisle with dark circles.”I closed my eyes, letting the breeze

LilaI stood in the foyer for what felt like an hour, my hand pressed flat to the door, listening to the echoes of my mother’s footsteps fading across the grass.Some part of me wanted to go after her.But another part smaller, meaner thought maybe she deserved this moment without me.After all, she’d carried the grief of him alone for so long.She should be the one to decide what happened next.I turned away from the door, wiping my face with the sleeve of Luca’s sweater. My heart still hadn’t settled into a normal rhythm.He’s alive.It felt like the strangest sentence I’d ever formed.But no matter how many times I turned it over in my mind, it stayed true.I climbed the stairs slowly, the adrenaline draining out of me until all that was left was exhaustion and something brittle lodged behind my ribs.By the time I reached our bedroom door, my legs were trembling.I didn’t bother knocking.Luca was exactly where I expected him behind the desk by the window, his tablet in his hand. B

LilaI never dreamed my wedding day would come like this.Not with my stomach fluttering from something more than nerves.Not with a baby growing beneath my heart.And definitely not with both of my parents alive standing on either side of me, ready to walk me down the aisle.But life has a cruel, beautiful way of surprising you. Breaking you. And then slowly, gently, building something new from the shattered pieces.I stood at the entrance of the garden Luca had turned into a cathedral of white and gold. Strings of soft lights twinkled above the aisle, casting a romantic glow that made everything feel like a dream. The scent of white roses was thick in the air, delicate and sweet, almost too much for how fragile my heart still felt.My hands trembled as I reached out, one to each parent.Mom, in her soft blue gown, her curls pinned back, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Her hand was warm, firm, the anchor I had known my whole life even through her pain, even through the lies.An