Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 8

I didn’t hesitate.Snatched the file. Stormed out.Down the hall. Into the elevator.Up, up, up—until the numbers blinked to the top floor. Where the powerful sat behind soundproof doors and secretaries with perfect teeth.I didn’t knock.“Mr. Langley’s in a meeting,” his assistant said with a rehearsed smile. “He’ll see you shortly.”I nodded once, jaw tight, folder clenched like a lifeline.Five minutes passed. Then ten.Finally, the door creaked open, and she gave me the nod.I stepped inside. Langley barely looked up. Just gestured for me to sit like this was a friendly chat and not a war declaration.He was a broad man—blonde, well-fed, radiating authority from behind a mahogany desk that probably cost more than my car.“Thea,” he said, clasping his hands. “You look... sharp. Excited to finally work on a high-profile case again?”I didn’t sit.“I’m here because of the case.

CASSIAN DRAVENIt took me three damn years to realize I didn’t know what the hell I wanted.Three years of pretending soft could satisfy me. That perfection could replace passion. That sweet smiles and folded hands could ever drown out the fire of a woman who looked me in the eye and made me answer for every part of myself—good and bad.I came back to an apartment that smelled like lavender.Jazz spilled softly from the speakers.And Laura—brunette, beautiful, sweet—was twirling around the living room, asking me to dance like we were part of some quiet little dream.But I didn’t want dreams.I wanted chaos. I wanted Thea.I wanted the jagged crack of her laughter the first time she landed a takedown—how it echoed off the locker‑room tiles and made my blood zing with something I couldn’t name.Laura was everything Thea wasn’t: gentle, agreeable, romantic in a way that didn’t scare me. But that was the problem. She didn’t challenge me. Didn’t cut me open just to see if I’d bleed truth.

The clock on the wall ticked past ten. Cassian was twenty minutes late. Unusual.Scratch that—impossible.Three years apart or not, Cassian Draven was nothing if not punctual when his career was at stake. And this wasn’t some sparring match at the gym. This was his legal career, his name, his legacy. I leaned back in my chair, staring at the untouched file on my desk, the one marked C. Draven in my handwriting.My fingers hovered over my phone for a beat.I considered it. Calling him. Just to ask.But I didn’t.The door opened before I could change my mind.Olivia stepped in, tablet clutched to her chest like it was a shield. Her expression was tight, unreadable, but I knew that face. She only wore it when she was annoyed. “You have a visitor,” she said. “Laura Ozier.”That name.Of course I’d heard it. Read it. Seen the pictures of her at Cassian’s side.“She says it’s important,” Olivia added, her voice cool.I gave a short nod. “Let her in.”She hesitated.“Olivia.”With a sigh, sh

I should have left him there. Right in front of the damn station, with his bruised face and busted lip and that stupid lopsided smirk that always made me want to punch him or kiss him, depending on the decade.But I didn’t.I couldn’t.As we stepped out of the station, I felt the eyes on me. Cold. Judging. Like I’d just walked out hand in hand with a convicted criminal. A few officers even had the nerve to sneer. Estelle was the only familiar face, sipping coffee like this was a Saturday strolland not a PR nightmare. She caught my eye and I gave her the subtlest nod before continuing on, heels clicking as I headed straight to my car.Cassian followed like a shadow, silent until we reached the parking lot.He cleared his throat. I stopped, hand on the car door. “What?”He shrugged, looking pointedly at my vehicle. “You’re really gonna leave me here? No cash. No phone.”“Go back inside and get your phone,” I said dryly, pulling the door open.He tilted his head. “Might’ve lost it when