جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

I used to be a woman everyone wanted to be. Flashes of cameras, glossy magazine covers, billboards stretching across Times Square-I was her. Silvia Moretti. Top model. International face of fashion and beauty. But now, I was staring at my reflection in the mirror of a quiet, dimly-lit kitchen, hair undone, wearing a faded T-shirt and cotton shorts. My eyes, hollow. My spirit, flickering like a dying candle.I never imagined that love could suffocate. That the very arms meant to hold me up could crush me until I questioned the shape of my own soul. But that was life with Philip Simpson. My husband.He came to sweep me off my feet, before throwing me into a cage.The house was quiet. Too quiet. A silence that didn’t comfort, but echoed like a warning. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling the cold that wasn’t just from the air. The once-luxurious house we lived in had become a cage with golden bars-and even the gold was beginning to tarnish. I could feel it in the walls. In the crack

The sketchpad stared back at me like an old lover - I also wanted to be like Eliza one time, to be known for more than my beauty. That was when I found a passion in drawing and painting - but I was too scared to leave something that worked for me, for something… new.I hadn’t touched a pencil in years.The smooth paper beneath my palm was pristine, untouched, and terrifying. I gripped my mechanical pencil and hovered it over the first page, willing inspiration to strike like lightning. But nothing came. My hand trembled slightly, the weight of everything I’d buried pressing down on me.I used to be good at this. At creating beauty from chaos. At pouring emotion into fine lines and colors.But now… I couldn’t even draw a straight line.I slammed the sketchpad shut, cursing under my breath. The ache in my chest deepened.“Eliza was wrong,” I muttered to myself, dragging the pad off the table and tossing it onto the couch. “This was stupid.”I wandered to the balcony, the city buzzing be

Calvin walking out of the family meeting yesterday was a blatant disrespect to me.” A frigid voice, so cold and authoritative that it seemed like it came from the coldest parts of hell sounded. I wondered if he knew he was talking to his son now and not just brokering a deal with another company. “You still haven't given your opinion on what we discussed.”“Opinion?” I scoffed. There was no opinion when it came to Damon Riego. You either did what he said now or you did it later. There was no two ways about it, even for his family. “You want me to marry Anielle.”“She is a beautiful lady, cultured and pleasant. Also I have already promised her father that she would marry into the Riego family.” Damon said. I almost couldn't believe that my father was trying to convince me. Damon never tried to convince—he ordered. It seemed like this business deal was more important than I thought. But I had no interest in land deals sealed by cold-hearted marriages. I wasn't some pawn on a real estat

Calvin's POV The sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office at Deva Entertainment, casting soft gold over the polished glass desk. I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair as my phone buzzed again for the fourth time that morning.FATHER.I ignored it.I’d already had that argument this morning and I wasn’t about to start round two this early.But like clockwork, my office door opened without a knock. My brother—Justin—strode in, holding two cups of black coffee and that classic you’re-in-trouble-again smirk painted across his face.“You’re a brave man ignoring Damon Riego’s calls,” he said, placing one cup on my desk.“He’ll get over it,” I muttered, grabbing the cup. “It's not the first time.”“He’s already calling the Handalls. Said he’s ‘cleaning up your mess.’”I rolled my eyes. “I’m not marrying Anielle. No matter how many acres of land her family owns or how many damn titles she holds. She’s not my future.”Justin sat across from me, the teas

The doors opened to a world of polished floors, pristine white interiors, and people who looked like they stepped out of Vogue. Men and women who looked like movie stars all gathered in their suits and gowns, there was no average here, only exceptional, ladies in six-inch heels and tighter-than-sin dresses. I gave a mental nod to Calvin, he really pulled off something amazing.“See ya.” Anora said in a singsong kind of way.“Do you by any chance know where Calvin's office is.” The top floor was bigger than I thought and I couldn't for the life of me guess where Calvin's office was.The brunette pointed in a direction at the far end of the floor. “Go straight, you'll see it. And careful, the queen is quite possessive.” Then she walked off leaving me more confused than before I asked. I heaved a sigh before I started to walk in the direction of where she pointed at.A group stood near the reception desk. At the center, a platinum blonde woman draped in couture laughed—loud, high-pitched