Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 81 - Chapitre 90

My eyes narrowed as Renzo’s grinning face came into view."Why are you here?"He rolled his eyes with exaggerated flair. "How about starting with a 'Thank you, Renzo'?"“Thank you, Renzo,” I said flatly. “Now, answer the question.”He let out a dramatic sigh, pressing a hand to his chest like I’d wounded him. “You never fail to bruise my delicate heart.” Without waiting for an invitation, he dropped into the chair beside my hospital bed. “I was already around when I heard that asshole's voice in the hallway.”“What a miraculous coincidence.” I offered him a smile so thin it could slice skin. “Not only are you magically in LA, but in the same hospital as me. And by pure chance, you were just passing by when you heard one voice among hundreds of LAPD officers? If I’m this lucky, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.”Renzo gave me a look. “You're right to be suspicious, but yes you're exactly that lucky. While you were here for the Digital World Conference, I was closing a major deal for

AMARIS POVI couldn’t tell which felt more disheartening spending my days confined to a hospital bed or wandering alone through a silent, empty penthouse. Theron always slipped out the moment I fell asleep, and waking up to nothing but cold sheets was climbing fast on my list of least favorite experiences. I was meant to be here “recovering,” as if healing shattered bones and purpling bruises could be achieved through sheer willpower. Part of me wished I could just command my body to reset to rid itself of the relentless pain that accompanied each movement.Still, I wore a smile like armor and insisted I was fine whenever anyone asked. Theron, Romilly, Osric, my entire team they didn’t need the extra weight of my suffering. I didn’t want them knowing that walking, laughing, even breathing sent fresh waves of pain rippling through me. It wasn’t as brutal as before, but since I’d begun tapering off the painkillers, each lingering ache became more pronounced, more real.“You’re not a cri

AMARIS POVTheron returned to the bedroom with a tension in his shoulders that hadn’t been there earlier. It was subtle, but I knew him too well not to notice. He must have spoken to Renzo, and the thought only made the knot in my chest tighten. Still, when I asked him about it, he brushed it off with a vague, “Nothing important.” I didn’t buy it not for a second. He was lying, and I fully intended to press until I got the truth. But before I could even build my case, he leaned in, gave me a fleeting kiss, and disappeared into his study.That... that infuriated me.He was the one who had insisted on making this relationship real, and if that was truly what he wanted, there could be no more secrets no more hiding behind polite half-truths. We needed openness, not silence. I took a few minutes to cool my head and finish the breakfast he’d made for me, then got dressed and headed for his study.He was sitting at his desk, eyes glued to the laptop screen, a deep crease etched into his bro

Another ripple of murmurs swept through the room. Somewhere in the crowd, someone muttered under their breath a low grumble of discontent. Fantastic. I had barely introduced myself, and already, they were losing patience.Way to go, Ami.I clenched my fists and shut my eyes, trying to summon the first lines of my speech from the chaotic fog inside my mind. They were there faint but present. I could still remember the words I had prepared. But as I opened my eyes and faced the crowd again, a sharp certainty struck me: I didn’t want to talk about college or that windowless basement I used to work in. Theron had told me to give them a piece of my soul. So that’s exactly what I was going to do.“I spent a long time wondering how best to present my creation,” I began, my voice steadying with every word. “Eventually, I decided the only way to do it right was to share a little bit about who I am.”I took a breath and stepped forward, toward the edge of the stage.“I went to a private high sc

AMARIS' POVA tight knot coiled in my chest as my gaze darted between Theron and Zinnia. She bit her lower lip, feigning modesty while fluttering her lashes at him like she hadn’t rehearsed it a thousand times in a mirror. Theron’s expression turned to stone blank, unreadable as his eyes flicked toward his father, who, not surprisingly, acted like I didn’t even exist. Then he looked back at Zinnia.“Well, as you can see,” he said, motioning toward me, “I’m with Ami now. And I’m not planning”“It’s not marriage. Nothing permanent,” Jareth Lockhart cut in with a cold chuckle, stepping between us with his back turned squarely to me.My blood roared like a wildfire beneath my skin. It took every shred of control I had not to react, not to tear this whole façade apart. Because if I did, it wouldn’t just be me who got hurt. I could ruin everything Theron had been building his position, his credibility, his chance to take over the consortium. And that... I couldn’t stomach.Theron released m