All Chapters of LOVE ME LIKE A CURSE: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The applause still rang in my ears long after Lucien D’Aragon had walked out of the atrium. I’d gone back to my desk, packed my things with deliberate calm, and told myself it was only a staff meeting. People met their CEOs every day. Nothing world-altering about it. Except my hands had shaken when I zipped my bag shut. And Maya had followed me out the door, still babbling about his suit, his voice, his eyes, like she’d just witnessed a miracle. By the time I left the office and slipped into the chill of the evening, the city lights already sparking awake, I had almost convinced myself it wasn’t worth replaying in my head. Almost. But the problem with convincing yourself something doesn’t matter is that you have to keep repeating it. Over and over, like a bad mantra. And by the time I stepped into the apartment, I was exhausted from my own denial. --- The living room greeted me with its usual chaos: Rhea sprawled sideways on the couch, one leg draped over the armrest, scrol

>Tiny bits of light rays cut's through the blinds of Lucien D’Aragon’s office. --- The office was quiet — too quiet — except the sound of steady breathing and the faint hum of the city below, muffled through walls of glass. The scent of her lingered. Duvesa Alvarez lay back against the desk, her silk blouse half-buttoned, lips still painted in the aftermath of something she pretended was victory. Her hair spilled across the desk. Lucien stood a few steps away, sleeves rolled up, hands adjusting his cufflinks. Each movement was un-hurried. There was nothing rushed about him — not the way he breathed, not the way he looked at her. He moved as though time bowed to him. “Was I enough this time?” she asked. Her voice was small, but the question wasn’t. It was a crack in her armor, a plea disguised. Lucien’s gaze flicked toward the paperwork on his desk, the corner of his mouth lifting — not a smile, not really. More a shadow of one. “You were never meant to be enough,” he s

Monday mornings always felt heavier than they had any right to be. The morning hit Aragon Enterprises with the usual operational velocity: inboxes exploding, printers choking on color jobs, and department heads moving with the kind of urgency that suggested someone, somewhere, had already messed up. They had. ****************************>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Coffee in hand, I was barely awake, scanning my inbox when Mr's Heidi’s voice cut through my morning haze. “Arabella,” she said, leaning over, her tone brisk but not unkind. “I need you to take this corrected file to the CEO. It’s urgent. I’ll explain later, but get it to him now.” I blinked, startled. “The CEO?” “Yes,” she said, eyes sharp and unreadable. “Go.” My pulse picked up slightly. A simple errand, she insisted— I had seen him once or twice from a distance, at meetings or in passing, but never directly. Never like this. I carried the folder like it was a live wire, its contents small but explosive eno

WORK THE NEXT DAY: —–— I was hunched over my desk, the glow of my computer screen casting pale light across a stack of papers I was meant to organize hours ago, when Maya appeared at the edge of my desk. Her heels clicked softly against the tile as she leaned in, one hand on the divider. “Arabella,” she said, voice just loud enough to catch my attention without drawing the attention of the rest of the floor, “have you noticed Julien hasn’t been around lately?” I blinked, looking up. “Wait… Julien? “Yeah,” Maya said, leaning closer conspiratorially. “No one’s seen him for a while. It’s weird. I thought you might’ve noticed. You two were… you know, chatting last week, right?” I groaned softly and buried my face in my hands. “Oh, that. I didn’t even think about it. Honestly, I’ve been so wrapped up in reports and… everything else, I barely noticed.” Maya chuckled. “Typical. Always in your own little world. But it’s just strange — Julien’s never gone this long without someo

Arabella's pov>> >>> weekends --- The air had softened by seven. Not warm—just forgiving. The kind of evening that made the city feel briefly merciful, like it might let you exist without asking for too much in return. Arabella hadn’t planned to go anywhere. She’d stood by the door for a long time, keys in hand, staring at her reflection in the narrow mirror by the coat rack. Her face looked normal. Tired, maybe. Rhea, on the other hand, was out running some errands, and Elias said earlier he would be at a friend's. So she went for a walk. No destination. music in her ears. The streetlights flickered on as she crossed the main road, Glow gold lights flickered against the pavement. Cafés buzzed with quiet laughter. A bus hissed to a stop somewhere behind her. Life moved around her in loose, uncoordinated rhythms she felt oddly detached from—like she was watching it all through a sheet of glass. That was when she noticed a gallery. She was sure it hadn’t been t