Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 121 - Chapitre 130

“If you like that girl, Mia so much, why don't you marry her to your first son? I heard he's divorced and useless. Perhaps, with the Harringtons, he may rise again.” With that, Madam Helena picked up her tea again. Lorraine’s smile froze, though her nails dug crescent moons into her palm on her lap. “Mother, you jest cruelly,” she said, her tone light but strained. “You know well the Harringtons would never tolerate a divorced man at Mia’s side. Detroit is their chosen groom, and only he can cement that alliance.”Madam Helena raised the cup, with the lid, she moved the tea leaves without taking her eyes off them. “Yet, they're willing to marry their treasured daughter to a man who had a child out of wedlock?”“She's not his child!”Madam Helena paused and slowly lifted her head and they locked cold eyes. Sparks flew and static rented the air as tension rose between them. After what seemed like forever, where neither of them wanted to back down, Mrs. Lorraine finally smiled faintly

Adele~Her smile froze on her face and she gasped, “Was that what he told you, that we took his money?” she continued before I could retort. “How could we sell you off, Adele? You were family, whether you agreed or not.” she sighed, “Our relationship may not have been the best, but we never thought of selling you off, you can confront your ex-husband if you don't believe me.”I frowned. Ryan and I went to the orphanage before our wedding. I didn't want to see anyone, so I went off on my own, wandering around the place and recalling memories I wished I never had. After a few hours, he came to find me in the playground I was never allowed to go close to – with Director Maggie and Matron Nathaniel beside him, having some discussions while laughing and smiling. How else could those two she-wolves in human clothing laugh like that if not over money? They never laughed with me, never smiled at me – unless it was to mock my pain or sweeten their cruelty. But that day, they not only smiled,

Adele~ What a hectic day. The day hadn’t even opened its jaws, yet I felt chewed up already. Matron Nathalie just left my office, but the weight she left behind was still pressing down on me. My temples throbbed, and I rubbed at them, wondering if this was what Mark must be feeling everyday. Mark, oh Mark, such a hardworking young man. “Bang,” my office door suddenly flew open, jolting me. My hand froze mid-rub as irritation built up inside me, thinking it was Matron Nathalie, but when I lifted my head, my heart chilled and the exhaustion fled like a coward. “Oh, Manager Mark, what a splendid surprise,” I grinned sheepishly like a child caught stealing meat from the pot, subconsciously rising from my seat. However, his face remained stoic as he gestured with a finger for me to sit back down, and like a student obeying her scary teacher, I did just that. He strode into my office, a blue folder in one hand, the other sweeping back his birdnest hair. I could see the dark

Adele~I blinked, then blinked again. Why was he yelling? And suddenly hyperventilating, and—oh my God, was he actually pulling at his temples?“Mark…” I said slowly, like I was speaking to a spooked horse. “Are you… okay?”He shoved a hand through his hair which only made it stand on end like a man struck by lightning. “Okay? Adele, okay was before I went through those resumes myself. Now we're staring at an avalanche of overqualified applicants who could obviously run this entire place better than either of us, and you’re asking me why I’m stressed?”He pushed back, causing the chair to scrap the floor with ungraceful flare and rose to his feet, pacing my office. I pressed my lips together to stop them from twitching. I shouldn’t laugh. This was serious. Mark never cracked. Only once. But right now, he looked one sentence away from collapsing into a dramatic faint.“Breathe,” I instructed, waving my pen like I could command him back into composure. “Inhale, exhale. Like yoga. You’v

Detroit~The private dining hall smelled of old wood and polished silver, but beneath it lingered the stench of pride, ego, and cruelty.Mrs. Lorraine West sat poised like an empress at court. Two seats from her sat Detroit, who leaned back in his chair, twirling a glass of crystal wine in his glass cup, looking detached and cold. The woman sliced a stake and forked it into her mouth. She chewed once, twice, then her face turned colder and she spat it into a napkin with disdain. The chefs and servants stiffened at the sound, their eyes dropping immediately to the floor. None dared to breathe too loudly. A single curl of Lorraine West’s lip could end a career, and all of them knew it.“Appalling,” she said coolly, dropping the soiled napkin onto the plate as though it had personally offended her. “This is what happens when standards are neglected. When the right people are not in control.” She glanced at her assistant and the young woman nodded once and turned to the guards. With a