Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 51 - Chapitre 60

IMANIEven after a few days, “Not yet” still echoed in my head.Augustus’s words replayed like a glitch, his tone, his eyes, that flicker of something inhuman for half a second. But he didn’t hurt me. If anything, he’d been gentle, thoughtful… sweet even. So maybe my brain was just trying to start drama where there wasn’t any.Maybe it’s the trauma from Aaron was still lingering somewhere.Still, I couldn’t shake the way the air around him had shifted. It became heavy, charged, almost like the moment right before lightning strikes.I pushed the thought away as I sat at the dinner table that evening. The clinking of cutlery filled the quiet, the sound of Declan and my mother talking about their next weekend getaway humming in the background. Stephan’s chair was empty. He was still at school, grading papers, or avoiding me. Probably both.Between bites, I said it casually, trying to sound breezy and normal even though I knew what I was about to say would cause a reaction I might not

IMANI“Stephan—” I started, but the words caught in my throat."You think you can just walk out after throwing that shit at me?" Stephan growled, his voice low and rough, eyes locked on mine like he was daring me to push him further.I opened my mouth to snap back, but he moved faster than I could react. His free hand shot up, snatching both my wrists and slamming them above my head against the door. One hand—fuck, how the hell he so strong?—held me there effortlessly, his fingers like steel bands around my skin. I tugged, but it was useless; I wasn't going anywhere.“Let me go!” I demanded, not sure where the boldness even came from. “You have been doing such a good job avoiding me these past few weeks so while stop now, uhn?”"I'm reminding you right now who you belong to, Imani," he snarled, his face inches from mine, breath hot against my lips. "You don't get to decide when we are through or not. That’s on me. And you sure as hell don't get to run your mouth and speak to me like

IMANII was sitting cross-legged on my bed, scrolling through my phone when the text came in.AUGUSTUS: Can I see you again?I stared at it for a long second, my thumb hovering over the keyboard.See me again. Like he hasn’t already made a habit of seeing me all the time.We’d been talking a lot lately, after classes, in the library, sometimes even walking together to the parking lot. He was charming, confident, the kind of guy who made people stop mid-sentence when he smiled.And honestly… he was easy to like. Too easy.Maybe that was the problem.Because deep down, I knew I needed to draw a line before he mistook my politeness for something else. I needed to let him know that I only saw him as a friend and nothing more. I typed, deleted, typed again, and finally replied: Sure. Tomorrow after class.Maybe it was better to clear things up in person.The next day, the café was warm and crowded, sunlight spilling through the windows. Augustus was already there, sitting by the corner wi

Valerie sat alone under the shade of the jacaranda tree, picking absently at the edge of her salad bowl. Her perfectly manicured nails clicked against the plastic container, the sound irritating even to her own ears. She hadn’t touched the food. She only ordered it because Imani had, and now, across the courtyard, she could see her sitting with Augustus. Laughing. Like she didn’t have a care in the world. The sight made something hot and acidic crawl up Valerie’s throat. Imani always managed to look so… effortless. Even in her simplest clothes, there was that annoying, quiet grace about her, that softness that made people gravitate toward her. And it wasn’t fair. Because Valerie worked for attention. She dressed for it. She breathed for it. Just last week, she got her lips pumped with fillers so it could look soft and plump like Imani’s natural ones. And yet, somehow, that girl, that meek, polite, goody-two-shoes of a step-niece, had both Augustus’s attention and Professor Step

IMANI“What was that?” she hissed. “What was he doing here?”I blinked, still disoriented. “He was just helping me with my assignment—”“At this hour?” Her tone sliced through my words. “In your room? Do you think I’m stupid, Imani?”“Mum—”“Don’t you dare!” she barked, the sound sharp enough to make me flinch. “Don’t you call me that like I’m some weak fool you can deceive!”My heart skipped. There was something strange in her eyes, something that didn’t belong to her. Even after years of being tortured by her, I still wasn’t used to it.I took a step back. “You’re scaring me.”“Scaring you?” She let out a sharp, humorless laugh that didn’t sound like her at all. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m only just getting started.”Then she began pacing, muttering under her breath, half to me, half to herself. “After everything I’ve done to keep you safe, to keep you close, you still find ways to defy me,” she growled. “You never spend your time with me the way you spend your time with him,”Her voice c