My Southern Lover のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

I didn't go back to my room. Not immediately though.The moment Cassian told me to leave, I'd turned on my heel and strode down the corridor with every intention of slamming my door shut so hard it broke the hinges. But before I could grab the handle, I heard it then–her voice.Savannah Thornwell. With her honey smooth voice like it was dipped in acid. I stopped in my tracks and stepped back, the old dear I had for the woman creeping back.And then, being the complete idiot that I was, I snuck down the back hallway, crouched in the narrow alcove that existed behind the first guest room—where the walls were thin enough to catch whispers but wide enough to keep secrets."...married life already catching up to you?" she asked.Cassian sounded drained and tired of her antiques. "What are you doing here, Mother?"God, even his voice sounded different around her. It was clipped and controlled like he'd wrapped himself tight so he wouldn't snap.She walked across the room, her heels snapping

"You're late," Savannah said, her voice as silky as it’d always been. Grating on my nerves in the most annoying way."I was with a child," I replied dryly as I shut the office door behind me. "A nice change, really from all this."She lifted one impeccably shaped eyebrow from her seat at the head of the long walnut conference table, surrounded by piles of files and an untouched crystal glass half filled with liquor."Is that what we're calling your pet project these days?” she muttered. “A 'welcome change'?"I approached the end of the table but didn't take a seat. "You told me to come here, Mother. What for?"She sipped her drink slowly, looking me straight in the eye. Even from here I could still see the evil my mother tried so hard to hide and yet, I didn’t understand how I came from her. How people couldn’t see what I saw."Your inheritance clause. There's been an amendment," she finally said."I already signed the updated prenup you sent," I said. "You had me go over every red-li

I can’t believe I did it. I kissed him. I kissed Cassian, the one man was supposed to stay away from.I walked down the hallway, trying to put my thoughts together. What happened there was a mistake that couldn’t repeat itself ever again. But I hadn't made it halfway down the hall before my phone vibrated in my hand.I glanced down, my heart still beating hard in response to that kiss—the kiss I shouldn't have wanted, the one I shouldn't have liked—and saw Selena's name glowing on the screen.I picked the call. "Sel?" I panted, struggling to get air into my lungs as I brought the phone to my ear."Belle," she said, her voice sounding out of breath like mine. "It's Leo. We're at the hospital. You have to come. Now."My breath stopped and at that moment, the blood in my veins turned to ice."No, no, no, no, no," I muttered, my voice tightening with panic. "What happened?""He started throwing up suddenly this evening. I really don’t understand what the doctor’s saying but they told us

I called Selena and begged her to come get me. She didn’t bother asking any questions and told me she was on her way.The moment I heard Savannah leave Thornwell manor, I didn't waste any time. I hopped into Selena's car and we zoomed straight to the apartment. The moment we arrived in the parking lot, I was already halfway out of the door, ice cream dripping in my hand and a little, noisy dino toy grasped tightly in my other hand."Make sure to give him the toy first before he sees the ice cream," Selena warned as I leapt out of the car."I know!" I called back over my shoulder, already running with excitement to see my boy.When I entered the apartment, Leo's laughter fell like a healing balm to my soul."Mommy!" he bellowed from the couch, still swaddled in a dinosaur-print blanket. "You're back! I missed you.""Me too, baby," I whispered, kneeling beside him and hugging him tight. "I missed you so much."He hugged me tightly. "You promised me ice cream!""How can I forget? I didn'

BELLE"I have no idea what that woman's problem is," Selena muttered as she put the clean pajamas into the laundry basket. "Did she expect you to sit there smiling as she asked you if your whole life was simply built on his… Last name?""She was just doing her job, Sel" I whispered, sitting on the edge of the couch. My fingers fidgeted with the edge of Leo's small dinosaur T-shirt.Selena stopped at that and glared at me. "Belle,” she said. “She literally said you were lucky he picked you. On national television."“No she didn’t,” I replied trying to remember when she ever said that.Selena shrugged. “Well to me she did.”I let out a heavy sigh. "But I walked out, didn't I?""That wasn’t enough,” she said. “You should've thrown a mic or something."I could only manage a small smile. "That would've been breaking the contract, woman."She gave me a look. "You know what else might break that stupid contract? You retreating into your silent shell like you usually do when you’re running fr