Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 20

CHAPTER 13 - The Unwanted TouchHe grabbed my arm. His fingers dug into my skin before I could stop him. The grip was cold, strong, and too familiar the kind of touch meant to control, not connect. I jerked my arm back. “Don’t touch me.” Marcus leaned in, his voice low. “You think you’re safe because he trusts you? You think you can stand beside him without paying the price?” I refused to back away. “You’re threatening the wrong person.” “Am I?” His smile was slow and deadly. “Let me make something clear. Men like you are replaceable. Men like him are not.” My jaw clenched. “You don’t get to speak about him.” “Oh, I will.” He moved closer enough that I could smell trouble on him. “You’re a distraction he cannot afford. You’re a weakness he doesn’t see yet.” I shoved him back. “I’m not his weakness.” “You’re right,” Marcus whispered. “You’re his downfall.” Before I could answer, he twisted my arm again, pushing me against the wall. Pain shot up my shoulder. I

CHAPTER 15 - “A Mother’s Fear” Inside, her voice sounded weaker, almost broken. “Adrian… tell me what’s happening.” He didn’t reply at first. I imagined him pacing, angry at himself, angry at the situation. Then he said, “You already know.” Her sigh was heavy. “I suspect. I pray I’m wrong.” “You’re not wrong,” he said. “Not anymore.” My stomach tightened painfully. Not anymore. So he meant it. He felt something. For me. But her next words cut through me. “You cannot want him.” My breath caught. “I know,” Adrian whispered. “You cannot look at him the way you did.” “I know.” “And he cannot look at you that way either.” Silence. Then his voice, low and aching: “I never planned for this.” “No one plans disasters,” she said. “They just happen.” My chest squeezed. Disaster. Was that what I was to him? Then her tone eased. “Adrian, your feelings are complicated. I understand that. Truly.” Complicated. Understand. Truly. Words meant to soothe but they did

CHAPTER 17 - “He Doesn’t Want Her”Seraphina asked for a private meeting. She didn’t even knock when she walked into the study. I was going through security reports, pretending to focus, pretending I wasn’t thinking about last night, pretending I didn’t hear Adrian’s voice telling me they would come for me first. Seraphina stood in the doorway, wearing the kind of calm look that meant she already knew too much. “We need to talk,” she said. “About what? ” “About the engagement.” Her eyes sharpened. “And about him.” I shut the folder slowly. “What about him?” She stepped inside, closed the door behind her. “He’s spiraling. And I want to know why.” My heartbeat kicked up. “I’m his friend,” she continued. “I’ve known him since we were children. I know the version of him that the public never sees. I know when he’s scared. I know when he’s lying. I know when he’s… wanting something he’s not allowed to want.” The words sank like stones in my chest. I forced myself to

CHAPTER 19 - “The Door That Almost Opened”I didn’t answer the voice outside.I knew that voice.I knew the weight behind it.And I knew that if I answered, something in my life would break for good.“Adrian,” the voice called again. Calm. Polite. Patient. “I know you’re in there.”My chest tightened.Ethan stood frozen a few steps away from me. His eyes searched my face, not for orders, butfor truth. For how bad this was.I lifted one finger to my lips.Stay silent.He nodded, barely. Too quickly. Like he already understood danger better than I did.The door didn’t move.The voice didn’t leave.Instead, it relaxed.“I won’t take much of your time,” Marcus said. “I only want a word.”A word.That was never all he wanted.My heart was hammered. I felt it everywhere. In my head. In my throat. In my hands.Ethan leaned closer, his voice low. “Who is it?”I swallowed. “Marcus.”His eyes darkened. Not with fear. With awareness.“That’s the man,” he whispered, “who keeps smiling like he’s

CHAPTER 21 - “The Engagement Dress”They showed me the dress without asking.I did not sit down.I did not smile.I did not lie.White fabric. Gold thread. Heavy. Careful. Final.“This is what the people expect,” my mother said softly.I stared at the dress. “They expect me to wear it?”She sighed. “You know what I mean.”“I didn’t agree to this,” I said.“You didn’t refuse either,” she answered.That hurt more than it should have.“They are moving fast,” I said. “Too fast.”“They are afraid,” my mother answered.“Of what?” I asked.She looked at me then. Really looked. Her eyes searched my face like she was countingbreaths.“Of losing control,” she said.I laughed once. Sharp. “They already lost it.”“Adrian,” she warned softly.“They announced the ceremony date,” I said. “Without telling me.”“Yes.”“They ordered the dress.”“Yes.”“They decided my future.”She didn’t deny it.“That silence is your answer,” I said.She folded her hands. Calm. Too quiet. “This is bigger than your fe