Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 151 - Chapitre 160

Undress.Her hands lifted. They felt heavy. Clumsy. Like they belonged to someone else.She grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head in one quick motion. Didn't let herself think about it. Just did it.The fabric caught on her hair. She had to yank it free.She stood there holding her shirt, staring down at it like she didn't know what it was. Then she carefully folded it and set it on the chair by the window.Her hands went to the button of her jeans next.It took three tries to get it undone. Her fingers wouldn't cooperate. They were shaking too badly.Finally she got the zipper down. Pushed the jeans down her legs and stepped out of them.She folded them too. Set them on top of her shirt with precise, careful movements.Now she was just in her underwear.The air felt colder. She could feel it on her skin, raising goosebumps along her arms and stomach.Her hands hesitated at the clasp of her bra.Once she took off these last two pieces, there would be nothing left. N

Aria stood frozen in the middle of the bedroom, the silence pressing down on her like a physical weight. The air felt thick, charged, every breath she took shallow and ragged. Shadows clung to the corners of the room, the city lights filtering through the massive windows casting a cold, ethereal glow. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, not just from the chill, but from the anticipation—the dread that coiled in her gut. The bathroom door had been quiet for minutes now, but she could sense him in there, and could almost feel the shift in the atmosphere, like a storm building on the horizon. Her heart thudded erratically, each beat echoing in her ears. What was taking so long? Was he doing this on purpose? Making her wait, making her mind spiral into darker places?The door finally clicked open, the sound sharp and final in the heavy quiet. Footsteps approached—slow, measured, deliberate. Each one sent a jolt through her, her body tensing tighter. She didn't turn. Couldn't. The air grew

The first morning, Aria woke up alone in the guest room.The sheets were unfamiliar—expensive, high thread count, but cold. She lay there for several minutes staring at the ceiling, her body aching in ways she'd never experienced before. Between her legs, there was a dull, persistent soreness that made moving difficult. Her thighs were bruised where his fingers had gripped too hard.She could still feel him. The invasion. The weight. The complete absence of care.Slowly, she sat up. The room spun slightly. She looked down at herself—she was still naked, exactly as she'd been when she'd stumbled in here hours ago after he'd dismissed her from his bed.The clock on the nightstand read 6:47 AM.She stood carefully, testing her legs. Everything hurt. She walked to the bathroom attached to the guest room and turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it.Under the scalding water, she scrubbed her skin until it was pink and raw. Trying to wash away the feeling of his hands. His mouth. T

"Damian." One of the men stood, extending his hand. "Good to see you.""Robert." Damian shook his hand, then gestured to Aria without looking at her. "This is Aria Hale."The name landed differently than she expected.All three men's expressions shifted—subtle, professional, but unmistakable. Robert's handshake became slightly cooler. The other two exchanged a quick glance.They recognized the name. Hale. Cassandra's maiden name."Ms. Hale." Robert's smile was polite but didn't reach his eyes. "Pleasure."The other two men introduced themselves— Noah and David. Aria forgot their names almost immediately. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear over the rushing in her ears."Please, sit." Damian pulled out his own chair. Aria quickly took the seat beside him, smoothing the red silk over her thighs with trembling hands.The men launched into conversation about market projections and acquisition strategies. Aria sat perfectly still, trying to disappear despite the fact that

Two weeks in, and Aria had stopped counting the hours.The days blurred together in the penthouse—morning light through floor-to-ceiling windows, silent meals delivered by staff who wouldn't meet her eyes, afternoon stretches of nothing where she existed in a kind of suspended animation. She'd tried reading. Tried organizing things that didn't need organizing. Tried anything to fill the empty hours before Damian came home and either used her or ignored her.Both felt equally dehumanizing.It was day fifteen—a Wednesday when the elevator chimed at two in the afternoon.Aria looked up from where she sat curled on the sofa, book abandoned beside her. Damian never came home during the day. Never.But it was him. Walking in with his jacket over his arm, tie loosened, expression unreadable.She stood automatically, heart already racing. "What's wrong?""Nothing's wrong." He dropped his jacket over a chair. Looked at her—really looked, his dark eyes scanning her face, her body, taking invent