جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 160

Lisa's POV I woke up screaming. My heart was pounding. For a second I did not know where I was. Then the scene from the dream came back to me.It had been a courthouse memory at first, then a road, then the splinters of glass. Where I had been hit… The dream was so real. Then I saw my mother on the floor. There was blood everywhere. As I was being tormented by that, Diane’s face flashed in my mind… like she has been there. Her eyes were calm and cold. She watched with a small, unreadable smile.I sat up and the room shut around me. My heart raced like I had run up stairs. The pillow smelled like my hair. The sheets were twisted. I pressed my palms to my face and took a deep breath for a moment. The memory did not go away. The image of Diane in the dream was still there.I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face.Riley was due to come by later. She had said she wanted to drop in with snacks and a new kdrama she was excited about. I told her to come. I had missed hanging

Diane's POV I slammed my phone down. My mother had just called. She was angry. She said I needed to be more careful. The thought kept bubbling in my mind.How did Andre find out about my ill-fated relationship with Rachel?I felt my face get hot. How did he know? Who told him? I had to find out.I told myself I would not go to his office. I told myself to breathe and wait. But the phone call with my mother had made me more tense.She had the kind of panic that rubbed off. I drove to his office.By the time I reached his floor, my hands were wet. People turned and looked as I walked by. On a normal day, I would relish the attention, but today, I couldn't care less.I did not care that he was working. I pushed past his assistant and opened his office door. Andre was sitting at his desk. Another man sat across from him. They were talking. They both looked up when I came in. He looked annoyed.His face turned dark. "Diane. What are you doing here?” Andre held a stack of papers in h

Andre's POV The phone rang just after dawn. I did not want to wake up, but the ringing was sharp and the day already seemed like it would be rough. I had barely slept last night after the news I had received yesterday.I saw my mother’s name on the screen and I groaned. I knew what the call would be about.I knew this call was coming. I still answered it with my thumb.“Hello,” I said and kept my voice flat.“You heard?” she said before I could finish the greeting. Her voice was high and very pleased. That pleased tone made my skin go cold.I sighed.“I heard what?” I asked. I already knew the answer and the weight of it. I had spent the night trying to sort the pieces, and now my head felt full.Andre," she said. Her voice was sharp. "Diane told me the news. She is pregnant with your child. Is this true?"I closed my eyes. The world narrowed for a beat. My mouth went dry. I could hear traffic outside my window. “She told you that?” I asked. I wanted the fact to be wrong.“She did,”

Lisa's POV I got to the cafe early. I wanted to be the first one there.The rain had stopped, but the pavement was still wet. I pulled my coat tighter and checked my phone for the third time. The cafe smelled like coffee and lemon. I liked that mix.Andre was late. He was never late. He liked to be there before me. He liked the small rituals. He liked to order my drink without asking and set the cup where I could reach it. That was part of how he showed he cared. I told myself not to worry. People ran late. Traffic happened. Meetings ran long.I sat at our table by the window and tried to breathe slowly. I had a dream to tell him. It sat hard in my chest and wouldn't go away. The image of my mother and the fact that Diane had been in the dream. I wanted him to know. I wanted him to help me make sense of it. He had been good with facts. A waitress with a black apron smiled at me as if she knew me. She set a small pot of tea and a saucer of sugar down with a practiced motion. “Anythi

Riley's PovI drove like a person with one purpose. Lisa sat beside me with her coat pulled tight and her hands busy with the strap of her bag. She did not talk much on the way. She stared at the street.I glanced at her. Her hands were folded in her lap. They were tight. Her face was pale. I felt heavy. I wanted to say something to fix it. But no words felt right. So I drove.“Take me to your place,” she had said. Her voice was flat. “I can’t go back to that condo. Not his condo.”So I turned the car toward my apartment. I did not argue.We finally pulled into my parking spot. I turned off the engine. The sudden quiet was loud. Lisa unbuckled her seatbelt. She moved like a machine. We walked up the stairs together. I could see she was steady, but that her steps came from strength borrowed from somewhere else. The building took us to the door of my condo, and I flicked on the light. It looked ordinary.She sank onto the couch and pulled the blanket over her knees.My apartment felt sa